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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. content — happy
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. face — to point toward
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bound — certain
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — a tool
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. track — a path
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. content — the amount
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bound — obliged
  23. track — a song
  24. bay — a horse colour

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