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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. scale — size or range
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. land — to come down
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. chest — a box
  12. content — the amount
  13. pass — a permit
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. chest — of your body
  18. land — a country
  19. wake — a trail
  20. scale — in music
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. chest — of your body
  24. land — ground

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