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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: pass · land · wake · leaves · pound · content · stock · cell

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. content — the amount
  3. land — ground
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. pass — a permit
  10. content — happy
  11. stock — goods
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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