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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: drill · tear · stem · content · pound · plane · kick · band

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. band — a music group
  3. pound — a weight
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. stem — to come from
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tear — from crying
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. drill — the tool
  17. band — a ring
  18. content — the amount
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. drill — army training
  21. content — happy
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. drill — a practice

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