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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bat — the animal
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. face — to point toward
  5. deal — to handle
  6. rock — music
  7. content — happy
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rock — a stone
  14. face — to confront
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. content — the amount
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wind — moving air

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