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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. field — farmland
  3. content — the amount
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. content — happy
  9. stock — goods
  10. field — for sport
  11. bound — certain
  12. cell — in biology
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. field — a subject
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bound — obliged
  21. plane — a tool
  22. stock — shares
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cabinet — ministers

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