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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · cold · plane · pitch · face · chest · can · spell

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. can — to be able to
  3. face — to point toward
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. face — part of the head
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. spell — magic
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. face — to confront
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitch — completely
  21. spell — a short time
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. spell — letters

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