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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. rash — a series
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. content — the amount
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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