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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bear — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. degree — temperature
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. lie — to recline
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bear — the animal
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. kick — in football

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