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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ground — crushed
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. face — to confront
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ground — a position
  15. bat — the animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fall — the season
  19. bank — of a river
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. content — the amount
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. straw — dry grass

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