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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.

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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. ground — the earth
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. plane — a tool
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stem — to come from
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. kick — in football
  11. roll — a list
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. content — the amount
  14. ground — a position
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant

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