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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. ball — a dance
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to confront
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bass — low music
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. track — a song
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. pit — a hole
  17. track — a path
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wound — an injury

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