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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.

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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. row — a line
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. net — after costs
  5. row — to paddle
  6. plane — a tool
  7. last — finally
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — happy
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. present — a gift
  13. net — in sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. content — the amount
  16. track — a song
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. net — for catching
  21. present — the time now
  22. track — a path
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. content — videos and posts

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