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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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 — happy
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. rash — a series
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. content — the amount
  13. chest — of your body
  14. press — to push
  15. face — to confront
  16. fine — all right
  17. rash — hasty
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fine — high quality
  22. chest — a box
  23. press — a publisher
  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