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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: content · toast · squash · face · last · wind · chest · roll

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. face — to confront
  3. chest — of your body
  4. last — to go on
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. chest — a box
  7. last — finally
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wind — moving air
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chest — of your body
  13. last — final
  14. squash — the sport
  15. toast — bread
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — a list
  18. face — part of the head
  19. squash — to crush
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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