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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. drill — the tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — moving air
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. plane — a tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. content — happy
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wind — moving air
  13. snap — to click
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. field — farmland
  18. drill — army training
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — a subject
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mine — for digging

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