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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. plane — a tool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. pitch — completely
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. court — of law
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. court — of a king
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kid — child
  15. shower — rain
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. content — the amount
  19. face — to confront
  20. content — happy
  21. face — to point toward
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. court — for sport

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