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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cold — not warm
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cold — an illness
  7. plane — a tool
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. stock — shares
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wake — a trail
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a city
  18. content — happy
  19. capital — money
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — a measure
  23. stock — goods
  24. content — the amount

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