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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: rash · roll · fan · face · cold · bass · scale · can

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rash — a series
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. rash — hasty
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bass — low music
  8. can — to be able to
  9. face — to point toward
  10. can — a tin
  11. roll — a list
  12. cold — an illness
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. scale — size or range
  17. roll — a cake
  18. can — a tin
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bass — the fish

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