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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mate — to breed
  5. band — a music group
  6. content — the amount
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. content — happy
  9. bore — to drill
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bore — to tire
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. face — to confront
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mate — a partner
  17. band — a ring
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. snap — to click
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mate — a friend
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. face — part of the head

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