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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bay · plane · cell · content · last · press

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. press — newspapers
  5. content — the amount
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. content — happy
  12. press — to push
  13. cell — in biology
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry

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