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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 116 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: can · bound · hand · content · lean · saw · hide · face

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. face — part of the head
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bound — tied together
  8. saw — the tool
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — thin
  11. hand — in cards
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bound — certain
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bound — obliged
  16. saw — the tool
  17. content — the amount
  18. hand — help
  19. can — a tin
  20. face — to point toward
  21. can — to be able to
  22. face — to confront
  23. content — happy
  24. lean — to rest against

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