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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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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: wound · stick · cell · row · jam · march · stem · land

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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 — of a plant
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. march — music
  5. land — ground
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. land — a country
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cell — a phone
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. march — the month
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. row — a line
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. land — to come down
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — in biology
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wound — an injury
  22. march — the month
  23. row — a quarrel
  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