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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pit — in a race
  9. squash — to crush
  10. mug — a face
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — low music
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. face — to confront
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bat — the animal
  18. content — the amount
  19. mug — to rob
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pit — a hole
  24. mug — a cup

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