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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · rest · face · kid · jam · cabinet · cap · snap

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. face — part of the head
  10. rest — a break
  11. snap — to click
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. kid — to tease
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. face — to point toward
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. rest — what's left
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. kid — child
  24. cap — a lid

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