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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: track · face · pop · cold · wind · plane · ball · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bore — to drill
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wind — moving air
  7. face — to confront
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. track — a song
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bore — to tire
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pop — soda
  20. ball — a dance
  21. plane — a tool
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  24. face — to point toward

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