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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. spring — of water
  4. net — after costs
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. spring — a coil
  7. board — to get on
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. board — a committee
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. content — happy
  16. spring — the season
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wound — an injury
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. content — the amount
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pass — a permit

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