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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bass — low music
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. track — a path
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to confront
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bass — the fish

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