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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. key — the most important part
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. key — in music
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. content — happy
  7. lean — thin
  8. wake — a trail
  9. game — wild animals
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. plane — a tool
  12. cap — a hat
  13. lean — to bend
  14. tube — the underground
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. tube — a container
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cap — a lid
  19. key — for a lock
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. game — a match
  23. content — the amount
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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