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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. kid — to tease
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. race — the arms race
  6. field — farmland
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. kid — child
  10. content — the amount
  11. race — a contest
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. track — a path
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. track — to keep track
  23. plane — a tool
  24. track — a song

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