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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. content — happy
  3. land — to come down
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. plane — a tool
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pop — music
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wax — to grow
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. land — ground
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. content — the amount
  23. pop — soda
  24. land — a country

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