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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. perch — the fish
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. track — a path
  10. cold — not warm
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. plane — a tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ground — a position
  17. cold — an illness
  18. content — the amount
  19. track — a song
  20. content — happy
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — to bear

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