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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. land — ground
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pop — to visit
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. rock — music
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rock — a stone
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — a country
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stem — to come from
  16. land — to come down
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pop — music
  19. ground — crushed
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stem — a stem cell

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