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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: plane · content · cold · cabinet · perch · suit · spring · bat

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. spring — the season
  3. suit — to fit
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. spring — a coil
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. suit — clothes
  13. bat — the animal
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. content — the amount
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — not warm
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spring — of water
  23. perch — the fish
  24. suit — in cards

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