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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. face — to confront
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pound — a weight
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bark — to shout
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. drill — army training
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. drill — a practice
  24. content — the amount

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