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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. lie — to recline
  3. face — part of the head
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. field — for sport
  18. content — happy
  19. field — farmland
  20. cell — in biology
  21. content — the amount
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. cell — a phone

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