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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. bound — obliged
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bat — the animal
  7. content — the amount
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. content — happy
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — child
  18. ground — a position
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ground — the earth
  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