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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rush — hurry
  3. content — the amount
  4. bass — the fish
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rock — a stone
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rock — music
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. content — happy
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rush — a thrill

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