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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 · hide · content · board · rash · cell · tear · bear

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. board — a committee
  4. tear — from crying
  5. face — to confront
  6. tear — to rip
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. board — to get on
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. content — the amount
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cell — a phone
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cell — in biology
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tear — from crying
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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