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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. content — happy
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pop — soda
  11. pit — a hole
  12. dip — to sink
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cell — in biology
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. clip — a video
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cell — a phone
  21. content — the amount
  22. pop — music
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pop — to visit

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