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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mate — to breed
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. field — farmland
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. field — a subject
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. mate — a friend
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. fall — to drop
  14. content — happy
  15. mate — a partner
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. tube — the underground
  18. game — a match
  19. content — the amount
  20. plane — a tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — a container
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — for sport

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