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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: stem · kid · wind · ground · fine · firm · wound · stick

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. firm — steady
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. stem — to come from
  9. ground — a position
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. firm — a company
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wound — an injury
  18. firm — decided
  19. fine — all right
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. kid — child
  24. ground — the earth

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