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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pop — soda
  4. tube — a container
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. content — happy
  7. face — to confront
  8. ground — a position
  9. cap — a lid
  10. face — to point toward
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pop — music
  15. cap — a hat
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. content — the amount
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pop — to visit

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