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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · tear · stem · content · pound · plane

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. content — the amount
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. drill — army training
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — happy
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. pound — a weight
  13. plane — a tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. drill — the tool

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