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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pound — a weight
  3. land — to come down
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. land — ground
  7. tube — a container
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. plane — a tool
  14. land — a country
  15. bat — the animal
  16. content — happy
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. tube — the underground
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wind — moving air

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