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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.

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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bass — low music
  5. content — happy
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. branch — a division
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. content — the amount
  20. bass — the fish
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. plane — a tool

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