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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. court — of law
  3. bore — to drill
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bore — to tire
  6. field — a subject
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. field — for sport
  12. kick — in football
  13. field — farmland
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. content — happy
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. content — the amount
  19. court — for sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — of a king

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