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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ground — the earth
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — not warm
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ground — a position
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. chip — for betting
  14. ground — crushed
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. fall — the season
  18. content — happy
  19. fall — to drop
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. content — the amount
  22. plane — a tool
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. chip — in a computer

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