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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: shower · pitcher · season · wind · spell · face · current · pitch

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. face — to point toward
  3. season — of the year
  4. current — electric
  5. wind — moving air
  6. shower — to wash
  7. spell — letters
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spell — a short time
  11. face — to confront
  12. shower — rain
  13. spell — magic
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. current — of water
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. current — happening now
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. season — in sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pitch — completely
  24. wind — moving air

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