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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bass — low music
  3. spell — letters
  4. present — there
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. hand — help
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. face — part of the head
  10. root — of a plant
  11. spell — magic
  12. root — the cause
  13. cap — a lid
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. present — a gift
  18. hand — in cards
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. present — the time now
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bass — the fish
  24. root — of a word

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