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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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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: mine · current · pop · wind · stem · pass · plane · fall

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pass — a permit
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. current — happening now
  13. pop — soda
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wind — moving air
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. plane — a 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