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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. face — to confront
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. face — part of the head
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rule — government
  13. clip — a video
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bass — low music
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bass — the fish
  20. scale — in music
  21. chip — for betting
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rule — a law
  24. wind — moving air

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