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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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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: ground · staff · wound · wind · press · row · court · stem

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wound — an injury
  3. staff — employees
  4. ground — a position
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. staff — a stick
  7. ground — the earth
  8. court — of a king
  9. press — a publisher
  10. staff — employees
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. court — for sport
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. press — newspapers
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. row — a line
  20. press — to push
  21. court — of law
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. ground — crushed
  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