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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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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 · wake · root · wind · swing · pitcher · face · toast

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. shower — to wash
  4. swing — in golf
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — bread
  7. root — the cause
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. face — part of the head
  14. shower — rain
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. root — of a word
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. face — to point toward
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. wind — moving air
  22. face — to confront
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pitcher — a jug

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