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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bass — low music
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bass — the fish
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. kid — child
  12. tear — from crying
  13. club — for dancing
  14. chip — to eat
  15. mark — a grade
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mark — a trace
  18. rule — government
  19. tear — from crying
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chip — for betting

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