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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. field — farmland
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. capital — money
  6. field — for sport
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. capital — a city
  10. club — a group
  11. content — happy
  12. snap — to click
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. content — the amount
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. field — a subject
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. club — for dancing
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. plane — a tool
  24. club — for golf

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