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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. face — part of the head
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. pit — in a race
  5. content — happy
  6. face — to point toward
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — size or range
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kick — in football
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. face — to confront
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. scale — in music
  24. content — the amount

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