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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. content — the amount
  3. track — to keep track
  4. present — a gift
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spell — a short time
  9. content — happy
  10. track — a path
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. present — there
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. kid — to tease
  17. hand — help
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. present — the time now
  21. plane — a tool
  22. craft — boats
  23. track — a song
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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