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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. plane — a tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. present — a gift
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. key — in music
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fall — to drop
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. present — the time now
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. content — the amount
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. key — for a lock
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. present — there
  24. safe — a strongbox

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