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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. field — for sport
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. field — a subject
  7. cold — not warm
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. plane — a tool
  11. lean — thin
  12. content — happy
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — letters
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — the amount
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — an illness
  21. deal — to handle
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — the Cold War

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