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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mine · rock · plane · stand · pop · chest · capital

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rock — music
  3. plane — a tool
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. capital — a city
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. capital — money
  11. stand — to bear
  12. pop — music
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pop — soda
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chest — a box
  24. capital — a big letter

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