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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. root — the cause
  7. deal — to handle
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. content — the amount
  14. face — part of the head
  15. root — of a plant
  16. mine — for digging
  17. snap — to click
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. root — of a word
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. content — happy
  24. deal — a big deal

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