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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. dip — to sink
  5. branch — a division
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. content — happy
  10. rule — a law
  11. pop — music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pop — soda
  16. rule — government
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pop — to visit

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