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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. content — happy
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cap — a lid
  8. march — the month
  9. cap — a hat
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. content — the amount
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. march — music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. dip — to sink

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