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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 120 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
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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: current · content · land · key · cell · wind · ball · plane

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. content — happy
  3. current — happening now
  4. cell — a phone
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a dance
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. current — electric
  17. land — to come down
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. land — a country
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. content — the amount
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. current — of water

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