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

Word bank: pound · chair · toast · stem · kid · mate · wake · plane

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. toast — bread
  6. pound — a weight
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mate — a partner
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. mate — a friend
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mate — to breed
  22. stem — to come from
  23. kid — child
  24. wake — before a funeral

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