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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 120 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: bulb · cue · face · chest · wind · pitch · wave · snap

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bulb — for light
  4. face — to confront
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bulb — for light
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chest — a box
  24. bulb — of a plant

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