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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. face — to confront
  16. perch — the fish
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. face — part of the head
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. deal — to handle
  23. face — to point toward
  24. content — the amount

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