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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. plane — a tool
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. pop — soda
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. drill — a practice
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pop — to visit
  12. net — for catching
  13. pop — music
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. drill — the tool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. perch — the fish
  23. net — after costs
  24. drill — army training

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