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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. face — to point toward
  6. land — a country
  7. rest — a break
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pop — music
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. hand — in cards
  15. land — ground
  16. pop — to visit
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. land — to come down
  19. pop — soda
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rule — government
  23. hand — help
  24. rule — a law

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