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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. face — to confront
  3. cold — not warm
  4. band — a music group
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bass — the fish
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. band — a ring
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bore — to drill
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bass — low music
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. face — part of the head

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