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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · hide · rock · bat · sharp · root · wake · drill

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rock — a stone
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rock — music
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. root — of a word
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bat — the animal
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. root — of a plant
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com