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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: lean · bark · plane · bass · row · fall · suit · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bass — the fish
  3. content — the amount
  4. suit — in cards
  5. row — a line
  6. plane — a tool
  7. lean — thin
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fall — to drop
  10. suit — clothes
  11. bass — low music
  12. row — to paddle
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. suit — to fit
  15. fall — the season
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fall — to drop
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. content — videos and posts

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