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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: stick · content · clip · plane · object · game · kid · march

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. object — an aim
  4. game — wild animals
  5. content — happy
  6. kid — child
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. march — the month
  10. plane — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. march — music
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. object — a thing
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. march — the month
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. clip — a video
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — a match

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