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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: face · cold · cap · fine · plane · content · craft · mark

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cap — of ice
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. face — to point toward
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fine — high quality
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. plane — a tool
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cap — a hat
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mark — a grade
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mark — a trace
  22. fine — all right
  23. face — to confront
  24. cap — a lid

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