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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. rule — a law
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. season — in sport
  9. ground — crushed
  10. face — to confront
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. ground — a position
  15. season — of the year
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. rule — government
  18. face — to point toward
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bass — low music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bass — the fish
  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