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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: content · wind · bear · row · cabinet · trunk · field · plane

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wind — moving air
  6. row — a line
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. content — the amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. field — farmland
  24. plane — a tool

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