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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 · cell · rock · wind · stem · ground

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in biology
  8. drill — army training
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rock — a stone
  11. ground — a position
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cell — a phone
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cell — in a prison

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