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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. face — to confront
  4. kid — to tease
  5. face — part of the head
  6. last — final
  7. cap — a hat
  8. last — finally
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — a law
  12. cap — of ice
  13. face — to point toward
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. last — to go on
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. kid — child

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