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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. kid — child
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mine — for digging
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. foot — a measure
  8. track — a song
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. face — to point toward
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. game — a match
  17. track — to keep track
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. game — wild animals
  20. track — a path
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. face — to confront
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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