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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. content — happy
  3. key — in music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. track — to keep track
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. snap — to click
  13. cell — in biology
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. track — a path
  16. content — the amount
  17. track — a song
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wound — an injury
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. key — for a lock

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