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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: saw · fan · content · lie · mate · kid · wound · plane

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. plane — a tool
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mate — a friend
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mate — a partner
  18. saw — the tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. lie — to recline
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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