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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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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: hide · last · bass · rock · face · tear · track · pop

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. face — to confront
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bass — low music
  9. rock — music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pop — music
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. face — to point toward
  16. rock — a stone
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pop — to visit
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pop — soda
  21. track — to keep track
  22. last — to go on
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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