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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · wound · racket · mine · stem · wind · hand · pitcher

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. net — after costs
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  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