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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. safe — a strongbox
  2. wound — an injury
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. content — happy
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. degree — temperature
  9. face — to point toward
  10. hand — in cards
  11. content — the amount
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. face — to confront
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. degree — from a university
  19. hand — help
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  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