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

Word bank: row · plane · wave · rock · content · cold · press · rule

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. plane — a tool
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. press — to push
  10. rock — music
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. rule — a law
  13. row — a line
  14. rule — government
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rock — a stone
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. press — a publisher
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. content — the amount
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rule — to rule out

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