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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. spell — a short time
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. track — a path
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. track — to keep track
  14. drill — army training
  15. spell — letters
  16. field — for sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pound — a weight
  19. track — a song
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. content — the amount
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pound — to hit hard

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