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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wound — an injury
  4. face — to confront
  5. cap — a lid
  6. face — part of the head
  7. ball — a dance
  8. swing — music
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. content — the amount
  19. cap — a hat
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. face — to point toward
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. swing — to play on
  24. lash — an eyelash

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