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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rest — a break
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bass — low music
  9. tube — the underground
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rest — what's left
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. tube — a container
  22. face — part of the head
  23. key — in music
  24. bass — 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