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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: plane · content · dip · cold · board · court · wax · kick

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. content — happy
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. plane — a tool
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kick — in football
  12. court — of law
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. court — of a king
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. court — for sport
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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