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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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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: content · wind · wave · plane · kick · bat · season · cold

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. content — the amount
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — the animal
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. season — in sport
  8. plane — a tool
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wind — moving air
  22. season — of the year
  23. content — happy
  24. season — to add flavour

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