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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 · jam · pitcher · board · wake · stem · wind · kid

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. board — to get on
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kid — child
  7. wind — moving air
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. board — a committee
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — to tease
  18. face — to confront
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stem — to come from
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wake — a trail

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