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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — a subject
  5. kick — in football
  6. content — happy
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. squash — to crush
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. craft — a skill
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. content — the amount
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. field — farmland
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. plane — a tool
  24. field — for sport

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