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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. lean — thin
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lean — to bend
  9. net — for catching
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. content — happy
  16. row — to paddle
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. net — after costs
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. content — the amount
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. row — a line

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