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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bass — the fish
  5. club — for dancing
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mark — a trace
  8. face — to confront
  9. charge — a price
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. drill — army training
  14. cold — an illness
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. drill — a practice
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. club — for golf
  22. cold — not warm
  23. charge — in control
  24. club — a group

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