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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. rest — what's left
  4. face — to confront
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. row — a line
  8. face — part of the head
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rest — a break
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wound — an injury
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pop — to visit
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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