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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. plane — a tool
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. stand — to bear
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. content — the amount
  24. mine — for digging

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