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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: season · plane · kid · land · pop · stand · fork · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pop — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. land — a country
  8. season — of the year
  9. land — ground
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. land — to come down
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. season — in sport
  14. stand — to bear
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. kid — child
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fork — to eat with
  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