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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 116 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. content — the amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — to point toward
  5. lie — to recline
  6. court — of a king
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — to confront
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. court — for sport
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pitch — completely
  14. court — of law
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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