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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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Word bank
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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: cell · cold · bowl · plane · firm · content

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. plane — a tool
  5. content — happy
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cell — in biology
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — decided
  18. firm — a company

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