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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: squash · straw · cold · net · bear · foot · content · plane

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. net — after costs
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. net — in sport
  5. content — happy
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cold — not warm
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bear — the animal
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. plane — a tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. foot — a measure
  17. net — for catching
  18. squash — the sport
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. content — the amount
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bear — the animal

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