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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. face — to point toward
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. content — the amount
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. tear — to rip
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. face — part of the head
  11. content — happy
  12. snap — to click
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. fall — to drop
  17. face — to confront
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. craft — a skill
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bound — obliged
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fall — the season
  24. content — videos and posts

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