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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rule — a law
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bass — the fish
  13. lean — thin
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. rule — government
  20. bass — low music
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. face — to confront

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