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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: pitcher · land · stem · rest · ground · can · deal · kid

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ground — crushed
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kid — child
  8. can — a tin
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. rest — a break
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. land — a country
  17. rest — what's left
  18. can — a tin
  19. kid — to tease
  20. deal — to handle
  21. stem — to come from
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. can — to be able to
  24. land — to come down

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