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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: drill · mug · pitch · stem · ground · craft · spring · land

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. pitch — completely
  3. ground — crushed
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. land — to come down
  9. drill — a practice
  10. ground — the earth
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. mug — a cup
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. craft — boats
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. drill — the tool
  17. craft — a skill
  18. drill — army training
  19. mug — to rob
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ground — a position
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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