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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bass — low music
  8. bound — tied together
  9. kid — child
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. chest — a box
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mine — for digging
  21. chest — of your body
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. chest — of your body

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