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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: ground · face · cap · swing · stand · mouse · spring · perch

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. perch — the fish
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. stand — to bear
  10. ground — the earth
  11. swing — to play on
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. face — to confront
  18. ground — crushed
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. swing — music
  23. cap — a lid
  24. ground — a position

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