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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — not warm
  4. clip — a video
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. staff — a stick
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bass — low music
  14. staff — employees
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. clip — for paper
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cold — an illness
  22. clip — to cut
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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