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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 120 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: fork · chest · deal · face · pop · wake · content · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. pop — soda
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. content — happy
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wake — a trail
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pop — music
  19. content — the amount
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chest — a box
  22. pop — to visit
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. face — part of the head

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