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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kid — child
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. track — a song
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bulb — for light
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pound — a weight
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pop — music
  23. bound — certain
  24. pop — to visit

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