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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chest — a box
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. bass — the fish
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. face — to confront
  9. kick — in football
  10. bass — low music
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hand — help
  14. face — to point toward
  15. tear — from crying
  16. content — the amount
  17. face — part of the head
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. kick — with a leg

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