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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bound — obliged
  8. clip — a video
  9. rule — a law
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bass — the fish
  12. face — to confront
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bass — low music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. season — in sport
  17. bound — tied together
  18. season — of the year
  19. press — to push
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bound — certain
  24. rule — to rule out

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