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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. spring — of water
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. march — music
  11. rest — what's left
  12. face — to confront
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. spring — the season
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rest — a break
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spring — a coil
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. face — to point toward

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