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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rest — a break
  4. spring — the season
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. content — the amount
  8. spring — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — a coil
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. rest — what's left
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rest — what's left

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