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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. sharp — clever
  4. swing — to play on
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mate — a partner
  8. swing — music
  9. mate — to breed
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mate — a friend
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. face — part of the head
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. content — the amount
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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