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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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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: wake · court · kid · stem · net · pound · stand · nail

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — in sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. court — of a king
  7. wake — a trail
  8. net — after costs
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kid — child
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. court — for sport
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stand — to bear
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. court — of law
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pound — a weight
  24. net — for catching

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