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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 · last · bark · wake · wind · ball · bowl · pitch

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. last — finally
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. last — final
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wind — moving air
  21. face — to confront
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ball — a great time
  24. last — to go on

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