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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. present — the time now
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spring — the season
  5. bass — the fish
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spring — of water
  8. board — to get on
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tear — to rip
  11. lie — to recline
  12. face — to confront
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. tear — from crying
  16. face — part of the head
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. board — a committee
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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