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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
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: plane · cold · content · nail · saw · pass · stock · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. stock — shares
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. saw — the tool
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chest — of your body
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. content — the amount
  13. stock — goods
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pass — a permit
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. plane — a tool
  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