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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. face — part of the head
  3. file — a tool
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. face — to confront
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wax — to grow
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. content — the amount
  18. bear — the animal

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