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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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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: plane · content · chest · pound · arm · trunk · bore · bat

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. content — happy
  4. chest — a box
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pound — a weight
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bat — the animal
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. content — the amount

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