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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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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. season — of the year
  5. scale — in music
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. content — the amount
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. kick — in football
  17. field — a subject
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. season — in sport
  20. content — happy
  21. scale — size or range
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. plane — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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