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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: pound · capital · shower · stem · content · arm · scale · pop

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. capital — money
  6. scale — in music
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. scale — size or range
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pop — to visit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pound — a weight
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pop — soda
  21. capital — a city
  22. shower — rain
  23. content — the amount
  24. pop — music

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