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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. prune — to trim
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. content — happy
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chest — of your body
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. staff — employees
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — the amount
  13. plane — a tool
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mark — a trace
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chest — a box
  19. staff — a stick
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. staff — employees

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