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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fall — to drop
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. content — happy
  8. march — the month
  9. fall — the season
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. mug — a face
  13. content — the amount
  14. rule — government
  15. march — music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mug — a cup
  18. face — to confront
  19. mug — to rob
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. march — the month
  23. rule — a law
  24. content — videos and posts

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