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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: stick · plane · mate · tear · chair · bass · content · spring

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — of water
  4. plane — a tool
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tear — from crying
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. content — the amount
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bass — the fish
  12. mate — a friend
  13. spring — a coil
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. content — happy
  16. bass — low music
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. spring — the season
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bass — the instrument

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