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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: suit · mine · net · stem · tear · land · wound · rule

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. net — after costs
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. land — a country
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. tear — from crying
  16. suit — in cards
  17. suit — to fit
  18. suit — clothes
  19. net — for catching
  20. tear — to rip
  21. net — in sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stem — to come from

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