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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · file · mine · content · hide · wake · rock · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. face — part of the head
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. face — to point toward
  9. content — happy
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — the amount
  15. file — a tool
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. face — to confront
  20. file — a document
  21. rock — music
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. file — a line of people
  24. hide — animal skin

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