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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: squash · saw · bear · wind · land · band · stem · ground

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. land — ground
  6. band — a ring
  7. ground — the earth
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. squash — to crush
  15. land — to come down
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. saw — the tool
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wind — moving air

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