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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. face — to confront
  3. content — happy
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. land — ground
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bound — obliged
  9. clip — a video
  10. land — to come down
  11. sharp — clever
  12. race — a contest
  13. clip — to cut
  14. race — humankind
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. clip — for paper
  17. race — the arms race
  18. content — the amount
  19. face — to point toward
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bound — tied together
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. land — a country

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