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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. face — to point toward
  3. plane — a tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. land — a country
  7. net — for catching
  8. can — to be able to
  9. rash — hasty
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. net — in sport
  12. face — part of the head
  13. land — to come down
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. can — a tin
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. prune — to trim
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. prune — to trim
  22. can — a tin
  23. net — after costs
  24. face — to confront

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