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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bound — tied together
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bass — low music
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. face — to confront
  8. season — of the year
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. tube — a container
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cold — an illness
  17. face — to point toward
  18. season — in sport
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bound — obliged
  21. face — part of the head
  22. rush — hurry
  23. bound — certain
  24. cold — not warm

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