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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a great time
  3. content — happy
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. content — the amount
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. craft — boats
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ball — a dance
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — a skill
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  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