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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. content — the amount
  3. track — a path
  4. tube — a container
  5. content — happy
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. track — to keep track
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. pitch — completely
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. face — part of the head
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. drill — the tool
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — thin
  22. face — to point toward
  23. tube — the underground
  24. track — a song

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