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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. ground — a position
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. can — a tin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. plane — a tool
  7. can — to be able to
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — an illness
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. ground — the earth
  16. chest — a box
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pound — a weight
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. chest — of your body

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