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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 · hand · tear · scale · cell · pitch · root · face

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. tear — from crying
  3. face — part of the head
  4. root — of a word
  5. cell — a phone
  6. root — the cause
  7. content — happy
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitch — completely
  10. face — to confront
  11. scale — size or range
  12. content — the amount
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. face — to point toward
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. scale — in music
  17. hand — in cards
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. root — of a plant
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. cell — in biology

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