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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. spell — letters
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bark — to shout
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. spell — a short time
  12. band — a ring
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. face — part of the head
  16. spell — magic
  17. content — happy
  18. band — a music group
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. content — the amount
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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