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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bass — the fish
  3. charge — in control
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — a phone
  7. charge — electricity
  8. track — a song
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — not warm
  12. track — to keep track
  13. face — part of the head
  14. charge — a price
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bass — low music
  20. face — to confront
  21. cell — in biology
  22. track — a path
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fine — all right

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