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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ball — a great time
  8. degree — an amount
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. degree — temperature
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kick — in football
  22. degree — from a university
  23. plane — a tool
  24. kick — a thrill

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