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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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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: cell · land · hand · stem · bore · net · squash · pitch

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. land — ground
  8. net — for catching
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. land — a country
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bore — to tire
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. squash — the sport
  22. land — to come down
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cell — in biology

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