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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: mate · plane · present · content · cabinet · bat · bark · wind

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bark — to shout
  9. content — the amount
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. plane — a tool
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. present — a gift
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bat — in an idiom

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