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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. face — to point toward
  6. net — after costs
  7. rush — hurry
  8. saw — the tool
  9. face — to confront
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. content — happy
  13. capital — money
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. saw — the tool
  17. capital — a city
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. net — for catching
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. face — part of the head
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — the amount

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