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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · content · hide · lie · saw · fan · land · straw

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. saw — the tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. content — happy
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. land — ground
  17. face — to point toward
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. face — to confront
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. land — a country
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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