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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 · bear · stand · wind · calf · pitch · fall · chest

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. fall — the season
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stand — to bear
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fall — to drop
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wind — moving air
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. face — to confront
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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