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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · mate · bat · content · drill · firm · fork · kid

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. content — happy
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — army training
  8. firm — decided
  9. mate — to breed
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bat — the animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. firm — a company
  15. kid — to tease
  16. firm — steady
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mate — a partner
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kid — child
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — to confront

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