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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 124 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. land — to come down
  6. kid — child
  7. pound — a weight
  8. content — happy
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. kid — to tease
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — the amount
  19. field — for sport
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bear — the animal
  22. plane — a tool
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wind — to turn a key

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