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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. branch — a division
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. current — electric
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — the amount
  11. root — the cause
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. plane — a tool
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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