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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: cold · squash · plane · swing · current · content · temple · clip

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. swing — music
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. swing — to play on
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — to crush
  10. current — electric
  11. content — happy
  12. current — of water
  13. clip — a video
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cold — an illness
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. plane — a tool
  19. squash — the sport
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. clip — for paper
  22. content — the amount
  23. swing — in golf
  24. current — happening now

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