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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 116 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. content — the amount
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. content — happy
  13. cold — an illness
  14. scale — in music
  15. game — wild animals
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rash — hasty
  20. plane — a tool
  21. game — a match
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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