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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. content — the amount
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. cold — not warm
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — in sport
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cold — an illness
  15. net — for catching
  16. press — to push
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. net — after costs
  23. face — to confront
  24. clip — for paper

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