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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · land · spring · bay · content · plane · present · temple

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. land — to come down
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. spring — of water
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. present — there
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. content — the amount
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. ball — a great time
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. plane — a tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. present — a gift
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. present — the time now
  24. content — videos and posts

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