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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 116 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: hand · nail · pound · hide · file · stem · mine · ground

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. pound — a weight
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. file — a tool

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