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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. content — the amount
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. key — the most important part
  7. last — to go on
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bear — the animal
  10. key — in music
  11. charge — electricity
  12. last — final
  13. face — to point toward
  14. clip — a video
  15. face — to confront
  16. last — finally
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. key — for a lock
  19. charge — a price
  20. content — happy
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. charge — in control
  24. kick — in football

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