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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: hide · stem · land · row · racket · wound · ground · rule

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. row — to paddle
  3. rule — a law
  4. land — ground
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. ground — the earth
  12. row — a line
  13. land — to come down
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rule — government
  20. stem — to come from
  21. land — a country
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. ground — a position

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