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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. face — to point toward
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — the amount
  6. roll — a cake
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. can — to be able to
  9. cell — in biology
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. march — the month
  14. content — happy
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. face — part of the head
  18. roll — a list
  19. face — to confront
  20. bass — low music
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — the fish
  23. march — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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