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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. object — to protest
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. face — part of the head
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. object — an aim
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — not warm
  15. object — a thing
  16. content — happy
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — completely
  20. face — to confront
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. content — the amount
  24. hide — to keep secret

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