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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: content · kick · pop · scale · ground · stem · safe · land

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. ground — a position
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pop — music
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. land — to come down
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. ground — the earth
  10. kick — in football
  11. scale — size or range
  12. land — ground
  13. pop — to visit
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. stem — to come from
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. pop — soda
  22. content — happy
  23. land — a country
  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