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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. chest — a box
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. content — the amount
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chest — of your body
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. degree — from a university
  14. content — happy
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. calf — a young animal
  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