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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: nail · pitch · roll · hand · spell · face · chest · object

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. face — to confront
  3. roll — a cake
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. hand — help
  8. object — to protest
  9. face — part of the head
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. hand — in cards
  13. object — a thing
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. roll — a list
  16. chest — a box
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pitch — completely
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spell — a short time
  21. object — an aim
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. spell — letters

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