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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: face · racket · hand · lean · wake · cold · scale · squash

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. squash — the sport
  10. lean — to bend
  11. scale — in music
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cold — not warm
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. lean — thin
  16. cold — an illness
  17. face — to confront
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. hand — help
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. face — to point toward
  24. lean — to rest against

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