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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. wound — an injury
  3. object — an aim
  4. key — in music
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. face — to confront
  8. rest — what's left
  9. key — the most important part
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — a break
  14. face — part of the head
  15. prune — to trim
  16. object — to protest
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — happy
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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