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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
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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: hand · pitch · sharp · toast · face · row · spell · rest

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. face — to confront
  3. rest — a break
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — what's left
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. toast — bread
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pitch — completely
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. spell — a short time

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