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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cell — a phone
  5. face — to confront
  6. can — to be able to
  7. last — to go on
  8. can — a tin
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. swing — in golf
  13. last — finally
  14. swing — to play on
  15. can — a tin
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. face — part of the head
  18. saw — the tool
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. saw — the tool
  21. swing — music
  22. last — final
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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