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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 · mate · pop · scale · content · game · safe · hand

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mate — a partner
  3. scale — in music
  4. mate — to breed
  5. scale — size or range
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — happy
  8. hand — help
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pop — music
  12. game — a match
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. face — to point toward
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mate — a friend
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. content — the amount
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. face — part of the head

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