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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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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: spell · face · snap · bowl · wound · hide · wind · pitch

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spell — magic
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. face — to point toward
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. wound — an injury
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. face — to confront
  23. pitch — completely
  24. wind — to turn a key

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