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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. staff — employees
  4. last — to go on
  5. bass — low music
  6. staff — a stick
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. squash — to crush
  11. court — for sport
  12. last — finally
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. tube — the underground
  16. last — final
  17. tube — a container
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. staff — employees
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bass — the fish
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mine — for digging

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