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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. last — final
  8. content — happy
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. plane — a tool
  17. content — the amount
  18. land — a country

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