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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bulb — for light
  6. face — to point toward
  7. fine — all right
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. face — to confront
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. branch — a division
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fine — high quality
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. face — part of the head
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bulb — for light
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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