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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cell — in biology
  5. field — farmland
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. content — happy
  11. object — an aim
  12. game — a match
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. field — for sport
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. game — wild animals
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cell — a phone
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. field — a subject
  24. bore — to drill

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