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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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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: kid · tear · cell · plane · march · pop · spell · ground

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. march — the month
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spell — magic
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kid — child
  9. pop — soda
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pop — to visit
  12. plane — a tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. march — music
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. tear — from crying
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spell — letters
  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