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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. face — to point toward
  7. content — happy
  8. rock — music
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. march — the month
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. face — to confront
  15. content — the amount
  16. march — the month
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. face — part of the head
  19. date — the fruit
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. march — music
  23. can — a tin
  24. rock — a stone

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