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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. bark — to shout
  6. face — part of the head
  7. content — the amount
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. face — to confront
  10. hand — help
  11. rule — a law
  12. saw — the tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — in cards
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rule — government

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