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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. chip — to eat
  4. drill — army training
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. drill — a practice
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. stem — to come from
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. plane — a tool
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chip — for betting
  24. content — the amount

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