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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. can — to be able to
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bass — low music
  6. can — a tin
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — to paddle
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. can — a tin
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mate — a partner
  18. row — a line

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