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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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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: content · land · pound · game · mine · pop · plane · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. plane — a tool
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. game — a match
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. capital — a city
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. land — ground
  13. content — happy
  14. pop — soda
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pop — music
  19. land — to come down
  20. pound — a weight
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. game — wild animals
  23. land — a country
  24. content — the amount

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