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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rock — music
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bear — the animal
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kid — child
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. content — happy
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. object — to protest
  13. content — the amount
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. object — an aim
  18. rock — a stone
  19. object — a thing
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. snap — to click
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. field — for sport
  24. bear — the animal

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