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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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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: pit · swing · face · perch · race · pitcher · toast · cold

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. race — humankind
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. face — part of the head
  12. toast — bread
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. swing — music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. race — a contest
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. swing — in golf
  23. face — to confront
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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