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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. cap — a lid
  3. content — happy
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cold — not warm
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cap — of ice
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cap — a hat
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. object — a thing
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. object — to protest
  21. fork — in a road
  22. object — an aim
  23. content — the amount
  24. date — on the calendar

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