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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. face — to confront
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. court — of law
  4. rash — hasty
  5. net — after costs
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bass — low music
  8. face — to point toward
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bound — certain
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bass — the fish
  15. court — for sport
  16. net — in sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bound — tied together
  20. court — of a king
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bound — obliged
  23. rash — a series
  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