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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. last — finally
  4. face — to confront
  5. bound — tied together
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. last — to go on
  9. content — happy
  10. wound — an injury
  11. face — part of the head
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bound — certain
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. snap — to click
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bound — obliged
  18. kick — in football
  19. content — the amount
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ball — a great time
  22. last — final
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wound — an injury

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