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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: game · date · craft · face · spell · pitch · can · bore

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. spell — letters
  3. can — a tin
  4. pitch — completely
  5. spell — magic
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bore — to drill
  10. craft — boats
  11. spell — a short time
  12. game — a match
  13. face — to confront
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bore — to tire
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. can — to be able to
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. face — part of the head
  24. game — wild animals

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