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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. pass — a permit
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. firm — steady
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. fork — in a road
  15. chest — of your body
  16. firm — a company
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. content — the amount
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. firm — decided
  24. plane — a tool

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