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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 · swing · roll · cold · pitcher · bay · ground · wave

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. face — to confront
  5. roll — a list
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. swing — to play on
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. ground — a position
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. face — part of the head

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