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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. spell — letters
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. content — happy
  7. field — farmland
  8. file — a document
  9. spell — a short time
  10. content — the amount
  11. field — a subject
  12. firm — a company
  13. field — for sport
  14. drill — the tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. drill — army training
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. spell — magic
  22. firm — steady
  23. drill — a practice
  24. firm — decided

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