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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: face · bass · cold · wind · object · game · bark · racket

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. face — to point toward
  4. object — a thing
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bass — low music
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. object — an aim
  11. game — a match
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bass — the fish
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. game — wild animals
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. object — to protest
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. face — to confront

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