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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pop — music
  5. pound — a weight
  6. last — finally
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stem — to come from
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pop — to visit
  11. content — happy
  12. foot — a measure
  13. drill — a practice
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. drill — army training
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pop — soda
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. content — the amount

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