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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. shower — to wash
  6. face — to confront
  7. file — a tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mate — a friend
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bass — the fish
  17. file — a document
  18. chest — a box
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. chest — of your body
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. face — part of the head
  24. perch — the fish

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