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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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. content — happy
  4. spell — magic
  5. mark — a grade
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. mark — a trace
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. spell — a short time
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. root — of a plant
  17. face — part of the head
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a word
  20. spell — letters
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rash — a series
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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