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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. staff — a stick
  5. tube — a container
  6. content — happy
  7. snap — to click
  8. staff — employees
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. field — for sport
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. capital — a city
  14. staff — employees
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bass — low music
  20. field — a subject
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — farmland
  23. bass — the fish
  24. capital — money

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