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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. land — to come down
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a list
  9. land — a country
  10. fall — to drop
  11. net — in sport
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. roll — a cake
  14. net — for catching
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cap — a hat
  17. fall — the season
  18. land — ground
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wax — to grow
  21. net — after costs
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cap — of ice

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