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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. face — to confront
  4. track — a path
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — a song
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wound — an injury
  13. face — part of the head
  14. track — to keep track
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tear — from crying
  18. face — to point toward
  19. tear — to rip
  20. deal — to handle
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. racket — for tennis

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