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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bass — the fish
  5. face — to point toward
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. face — to confront
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. face — part of the head
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mug — a cup
  15. content — the amount
  16. mug — a face
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bass — low music
  24. wind — moving air

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