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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rock — music
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. bass — low music
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. face — to confront
  8. current — electric
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. current — happening now
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. current — of water
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — an illness

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