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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lie — to recline
  3. root — the cause
  4. face — part of the head
  5. ball — a dance
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. season — of the year
  13. track — to keep track
  14. content — the amount
  15. track — a path
  16. season — in sport
  17. root — of a word
  18. content — happy
  19. root — of a plant
  20. track — a song
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. mine — for digging
  24. face — to confront

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