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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: board · leaves · cold · row · wound · face · bass · pitch

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. face — to confront
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. row — a line
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. board — a committee
  15. cold — an illness
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cold — not warm
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bass — low music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. board — to get on

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