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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. face — to confront
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wind — moving air
  8. content — happy
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — the tool
  14. face — part of the head
  15. content — the amount
  16. wind — moving air
  17. drill — army training
  18. row — a line

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