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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 120 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rule — government
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fork — in a road
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bass — low music
  7. face — to confront
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. wind — moving air
  18. sharp — with an edge

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