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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. face — to point toward
  4. content — the amount
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. clip — to cut
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. firm — decided
  13. shower — rain
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. face — to confront
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. firm — a company
  19. clip — for paper
  20. firm — steady
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. face — part of the head
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. clip — a video

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