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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: race · toast · snap · bass · land · face · chip · saw

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. bass — low music
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. toast — bread
  4. snap — to click
  5. land — ground
  6. saw — the tool
  7. face — to confront
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. race — humankind
  10. chip — for betting
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bass — the fish
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. land — a country
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — the tool
  21. face — to point toward
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. race — a contest
  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