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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 120 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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468
Word bank
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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. face — to confront
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. face — to point toward
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cell — a phone
  13. snap — to click
  14. bulb — for light
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bulb — for light
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. perch — 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