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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: face · bass · snap · rash · race · fan · pop · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rash — hasty
  3. race — a contest
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bass — low music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. race — humankind
  11. snap — to click
  12. rash — a series
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rule — a law
  15. face — to confront
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bass — the fish
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pop — music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pop — soda

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