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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: cold · content · degree · lie · shower · plane · stand · pass

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. pass — a permit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. content — happy
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stand — to bear
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. content — the amount
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. shower — rain
  24. cold — an illness

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