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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 116 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: ball · cold · spell · mate · pound · current · plane · content

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. content — happy
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. plane — a tool
  9. spell — magic
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. current — electric
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spell — letters
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. content — the amount
  17. current — happening now
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mate — to breed
  23. current — of water
  24. cold — the Cold War

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