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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. cell — a phone
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pop — soda
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pop — music
  8. face — to confront
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. content — happy
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lean — thin
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. content — the amount
  21. lean — to bend
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kick — with a leg

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