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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. shower — rain
  5. ground — the earth
  6. chest — of your body
  7. squash — to crush
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. object — a thing
  11. content — the amount
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. ground — crushed
  14. chest — of your body
  15. plane — a tool
  16. object — an aim
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ground — a position
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. object — to protest
  23. squash — the sport
  24. plane — in geometry

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