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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mate — to breed
  11. kid — child
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. content — happy
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. content — the amount
  22. mate — a partner
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mouse — the animal

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