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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: stem · mate · court · wound · net · bore · straw · pound

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pound — a weight
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. court — of a king
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. net — after costs
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. court — for sport
  14. net — in sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. court — of law
  19. bore — to tire
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. net — for catching
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stem — a stem cell

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