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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — to crush
  5. chair — a leader
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. stock — goods
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. stock — shares
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rash — a series
  14. face — to confront
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. face — part of the head
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. face — to point toward
  19. content — the amount
  20. squash — the sport
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. chair — to sit on

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