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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. tube — the underground
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — to point toward
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lie — to recline
  11. tube — a container
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pound — a weight
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. content — the amount
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. face — to confront
  24. chair — a leader

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