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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. lean — to bend
  3. game — a match
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pop — music
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. face — to confront
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. lean — thin
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pop — soda
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. band — a ring
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wind — moving air
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a music group
  24. face — part of the head

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