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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 120 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. chest — of your body
  6. staff — a stick
  7. face — to point toward
  8. content — happy
  9. march — the month
  10. staff — employees
  11. content — the amount
  12. chest — a box
  13. perch — the fish
  14. march — the month
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. march — music
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fork — in a road
  21. chest — of your body
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fork — to eat with

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