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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wound — an injury
  3. craft — boats
  4. spring — of water
  5. band — a music group
  6. content — the amount
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. face — to point toward
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. face — to confront
  13. spring — the season
  14. wound — an injury
  15. race — humankind
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spring — a coil
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. race — the arms race
  20. band — a ring
  21. present — there
  22. craft — a skill
  23. race — a contest
  24. content — happy

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