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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: sharp · cap · pop · ground · swing · fall · face · bat

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. fall — the season
  6. cap — a lid
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pop — to visit
  9. face — to confront
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bat — the animal
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pop — soda
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pop — music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — a position
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cap — a hat
  24. sharp — with an edge

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