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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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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. row — a line
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bound — certain
  5. ground — crushed
  6. hand — help
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bass — the fish
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ground — a position
  13. rest — a break
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rest — what's left
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rest — what's left
  19. face — to confront
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bass — low music
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. row — to paddle
  24. face — part of the head

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