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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: swing · plane · wake · fall · face · land · hide · pitch

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. land — ground
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. face — part of the head
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pitch — completely
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — a country
  14. wake — a trail
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. face — to confront
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. land — to come down

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