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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. content — happy
  4. prune — to trim
  5. content — the amount
  6. pop — to visit
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rest — what's left
  9. track — a song
  10. pop — music
  11. land — a country
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pop — soda
  19. pit — in a race
  20. prune — to trim
  21. face — part of the head
  22. land — to come down
  23. track — a path
  24. land — ground

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