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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: roll · kid · content · ball · wind · season · sharp · plane

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. season — of the year
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. kid — to tease
  5. sharp — clever
  6. season — in sport
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. roll — a cake
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ball — a great time
  11. kid — child
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. roll — a list
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. plane — a tool
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ball — a dance
  24. sharp — exactly

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