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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: wake · press · plane · pitcher · face · land · bat · board

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. land — a country
  8. press — to push
  9. face — to confront
  10. land — to come down
  11. face — part of the head
  12. land — ground
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. board — a committee
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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