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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. face — part of the head
  3. foot — a measure
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wound — an injury
  7. face — to confront
  8. track — a song
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wound — an injury
  12. track — to keep track
  13. squash — to crush
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. face — to point toward
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. track — a path

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