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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: ball · degree · straw · fork · toast · wound · plane · content

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. content — the amount
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. ball — a dance
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. plane — a tool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. ball — a great time
  13. toast — bread
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — happy
  18. degree — an amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. degree — from a university
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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