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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. face — to confront
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. race — a contest
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. ground — the earth
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. race — humankind
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. race — the arms race
  14. ground — a position
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. band — a ring
  18. face — to point toward
  19. ground — crushed
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bass — low music
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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