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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: plane · cell · capital · stand · bore · game · land · pound

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. land — ground
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. capital — a city
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bore — to tire
  18. game — a match
  19. bore — to drill
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cell — in biology
  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