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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 120 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 · key · face · tube · spell · rest · dip · cold

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rest — a break
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. content — happy
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spell — letters
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. content — the amount
  15. face — part of the head
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — in music
  18. face — to confront
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — magic
  22. face — to point toward
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cold — the Cold War

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