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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 116 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: staff · land · bore · face · bat · wound · nail · pitch

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bat — the animal
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bore — to drill
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. face — to confront
  10. pitch — completely
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. land — a country
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. land — to come down
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. staff — employees
  17. face — part of the head
  18. land — ground
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. staff — employees

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