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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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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: land · last · kid · plane · root · march · net · pound

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. net — after costs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. march — the month
  5. pound — a weight
  6. net — for catching
  7. land — a country
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. kid — to tease
  10. last — final
  11. kid — child
  12. net — in sport
  13. land — ground
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. last — finally
  16. land — to come down
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. last — to go on
  24. root — the cause

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