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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bass — low music
  4. squash — to crush
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wound — an injury
  7. face — to confront
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. squash — the sport
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chest — a box
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a music group
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chip — to eat

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