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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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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lean — to bend
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. content — happy
  7. dip — to sink
  8. face — to confront
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. content — the amount
  13. lean — thin
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bear — the animal
  19. face — part of the head
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. face — to point toward
  23. mine — for digging
  24. coach — a trainer

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