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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — the amount
  3. scale — in music
  4. rest — a break
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. face — to point toward
  11. scale — size or range
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. content — happy
  18. ground — a position
  19. mate — a friend
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rest — what's left

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