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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. field — a subject
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. lean — thin
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. field — farmland
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. field — for sport
  14. band — a ring
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. content — the amount
  17. drill — the tool
  18. band — a music group
  19. pitch — completely
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. lean — to bend
  23. plane — a tool
  24. drill — a practice

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