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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — a leader
  6. content — happy
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pop — music
  9. lie — to recline
  10. track — a path
  11. pop — to visit
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. track — a song
  14. pop — soda
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wound — an injury
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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