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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wind — moving air
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. bass — low music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. face — part of the head
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — in music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — a country
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. land — ground
  19. key — the most important part
  20. land — to come down
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — to point toward
  24. jam — a tight spot

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