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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pass — a permit
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. spring — the season
  10. kid — child
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. face — part of the head
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — a video
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. face — to confront
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bass — low music

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