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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · mine · wind · trunk · squash · stem

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stem — to come from
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ground — a position
  11. mine — for digging
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — crushed
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wind — moving air
  18. squash — to crush

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