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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. charge — a price
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — a tool
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. land — a country
  11. kid — child
  12. spell — letters
  13. field — farmland
  14. spell — a short time
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. spell — magic
  17. present — the time now
  18. charge — in control
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. field — for sport
  23. charge — electricity
  24. field — a subject

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