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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ground — a position
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. content — the amount
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. content — happy
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bound — certain
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bound — tied together
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bound — obliged
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. sharp — exactly
  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