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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ground — crushed
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — the earth
  15. key — in music
  16. face — to confront
  17. date — the fruit
  18. face — to point toward
  19. lean — thin
  20. ground — a position
  21. face — part of the head
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bass — the instrument
  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