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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. press — to push
  4. spell — magic
  5. last — final
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. press — newspapers
  15. face — to point toward
  16. can — to be able to
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. can — a tin
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. press — a publisher
  21. can — a tin
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. face — part of the head

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