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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: game · stand · plane · pound · file · bowl · stem · cold

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. game — a match
  10. stem — to come from
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. file — a tool
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. file — a document
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. stand — to bear
  24. pound — a weight

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