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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: chair · content · cap · roll · tear · firm · wake · plane

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. roll — a cake
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. tear — from crying
  5. roll — a list
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. content — the amount
  9. tear — from crying
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cap — a hat
  13. plane — a tool
  14. chair — a leader
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — of ice
  17. firm — steady
  18. content — happy
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cap — a lid
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. firm — decided
  23. wake — a trail
  24. firm — a company

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