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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ball — a great time
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. ball — a dance
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lie — to recline
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. ground — a position
  21. snap — to click
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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