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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. face — to point toward
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spring — a coil
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. kid — child
  9. scale — in music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. scale — size or range
  12. spring — of water
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mate — to breed
  19. spring — the season
  20. content — happy
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. face — to confront
  23. content — the amount
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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