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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 124 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — to point toward
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. court — of a king
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. degree — an amount
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. face — part of the head
  17. content — happy
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — for sport
  20. face — to confront
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — of law
  24. leaves — lets stay

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