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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 116 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: bowl · mine · pitch · band · bat · row · bank · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. face — to confront
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. row — a line
  24. bank — of a river

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