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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.

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: present · craft · cold · degree · plane · content · land · shower

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. degree — temperature
  4. land — ground
  5. present — the time now
  6. degree — from a university
  7. shower — rain
  8. craft — a skill
  9. present — a gift
  10. land — a country
  11. content — happy
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. craft — boats
  19. content — the amount
  20. plane — a tool
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cold — not warm
  23. degree — an amount
  24. land — to come down

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