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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: ground · pass · land · wind · pop · foot · cabinet · chest

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. land — to come down
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. land — a country
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pop — soda
  9. ground — a position
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pop — music
  15. foot — a measure
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. chest — a box
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. pop — to visit
  20. land — ground
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pass — to succeed

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