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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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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: face · stick · content · straw · craft · date · wound · mine

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. face — to point toward
  6. craft — a skill
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. date — the fruit
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. content — happy
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. craft — boats
  24. straw — a straw man

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