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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: nail · content · bound · land · plane · mate · spring · rest

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bound — certain
  4. mate — a friend
  5. land — ground
  6. mate — to breed
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. land — to come down
  9. plane — a tool
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — obliged
  13. land — a country
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. mate — a partner
  20. content — the amount
  21. spring — of water
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rest — what's left

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