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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spring — of water
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — the season
  14. face — to point toward
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. face — to confront
  18. club — for golf
  19. spring — a coil
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. club — a group
  24. fan — a supporter

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