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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. content — the amount
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cell — a phone
  8. content — happy
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cold — not warm
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — an illness
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stand — on your feet

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