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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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Word bank
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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: hand · lean · can · pitcher · dip · land · content · face

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. can — a tin
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. content — happy
  9. face — to point toward
  10. lean — to bend
  11. land — ground
  12. dip — to sink
  13. face — to confront
  14. can — to be able to
  15. face — part of the head
  16. lean — thin
  17. hand — in cards
  18. content — the amount
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. hand — help
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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