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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. content — happy
  7. chest — of your body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chest — of your body
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. mate — a friend
  16. fork — in a road
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. chest — a box
  21. plane — a tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. content — the amount
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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