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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. scale — in music
  4. tube — a container
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. face — to confront
  7. scale — size or range
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fork — in a road
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. sharp — clever
  13. face — part of the head
  14. lie — to recline
  15. content — happy
  16. tube — the underground
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. content — the amount

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