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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. plane — a tool
  3. game — a match
  4. rock — music
  5. kid — child
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — wild animals
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. content — the amount
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. rock — a stone
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. fall — the season
  22. land — to come down
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. content — happy

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