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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cold — not warm
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. last — finally
  5. deal — to handle
  6. lean — thin
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — decided
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — to go on
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. last — final
  18. firm — a company
  19. content — happy
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. lean — to bend

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