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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — thin
  4. plane — a tool
  5. object — a thing
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bass — the fish
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. content — the amount
  13. object — to protest
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. content — happy
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. object — an aim
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lean — to bend
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cold — not warm

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