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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. land — to come down
  5. bear — the animal
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a document
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. plane — a tool
  19. kick — in football
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bear — the animal
  22. land — ground
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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