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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: cold · date · plane · root · mate · pound · pop · ball

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. pop — to visit
  4. root — the cause
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pound — a weight
  7. mate — a partner
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cold — not warm
  10. root — of a plant
  11. pop — soda
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. ball — a dance
  16. pop — music
  17. mate — a friend
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ball — a great time
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cold — the Cold War

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