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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. content — the amount
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. clip — a video
  7. row — a line
  8. content — happy
  9. squash — to crush
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. row — to paddle
  15. plane — a tool
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. clip — to cut
  21. squash — the sport
  22. clip — for paper
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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