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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 120 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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cold — not warm
  5. land — ground
  6. content — happy
  7. tube — a container
  8. content — the amount
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. cap — of ice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tube — the underground
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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