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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. content — the amount
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. face — to point toward
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. sharp — clever
  8. tube — a container
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. face — to confront
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tube — the underground
  15. dip — to sink
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. content — happy
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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