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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: cell · cold · bowl · plane · firm · content · land · degree

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. firm — a company
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cold — not warm
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — decided
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cell — in biology
  21. degree — from a university
  22. land — ground
  23. land — to come down
  24. content — happy

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