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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: wind · cell · ground · spell · stem · board · pass · tube

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wind — moving air
  5. board — a committee
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tube — a container
  12. spell — letters
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cell — a phone
  17. board — to get on
  18. ground — the earth
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ground — a position
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cell — in biology
  24. spell — magic

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