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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: stand · ball · pitcher · prune · cold · toast · face · root

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. toast — bread
  6. root — the cause
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stand — to bear
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. prune — to trim
  20. root — of a word
  21. cold — an illness
  22. face — part of the head
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — the Cold War

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