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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. face — to point toward
  3. content — happy
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. cell — a phone
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. roll — a cake
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. squash — to crush
  20. roll — a list
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. content — the amount
  23. cell — in biology
  24. lash — an eyelash

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