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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. face — to confront
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mug — to rob
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mug — a cup
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mug — a face
  15. file — a line of people
  16. face — part of the head
  17. file — a document
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. snap — to click
  23. file — a tool
  24. content — happy

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