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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. face — to confront
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cell — a phone
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wound — an injury
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. cell — in a prison

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