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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: face · wave · tear · racket · bat · bass · present · leaves

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. present — the time now
  12. face — part of the head
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. tear — from crying
  17. present — a gift
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. present — there
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bass — low music

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