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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pound — a weight
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. rash — a series
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. plane — in geometry

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