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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — temperature
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. degree — an amount
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. degree — from a university
  17. craft — a skill
  18. content — the amount
  19. craft — boats
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. date — the fruit

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