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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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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 · wind · lash · pitcher · perch · racket · pit · bat

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bat — the animal
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wind — moving air
  10. face — to confront
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pit — in a race
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. perch — the fish
  24. lash — an eyelash

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