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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · cold · face · straw · saw · pitch · shower · wound

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. face — to point toward
  4. saw — the tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — completely
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wound — an injury
  12. face — part of the head
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cold — not warm
  15. shower — to wash
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. saw — the tool
  22. plane — a tool
  23. face — to confront
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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