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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 · jam · bound · stem · wound · ground · vault · branch

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bound — obliged
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bound — certain
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wound — an injury
  10. branch — a division
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bound — tied together
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. ground — crushed
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. drill — the tool
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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