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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: key · cold · drill · bear · face · wound · pitch · pop

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pop — to visit
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bear — the animal
  11. face — to confront
  12. bear — the animal
  13. key — for a lock
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. key — in music
  24. pitch — a sports field

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