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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: cold · stem · kick · ball · fine · lash · pound · land

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. land — to come down
  11. pound — a weight
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. fine — all right
  14. land — ground
  15. kick — in football
  16. land — a country
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fine — high quality
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. cold — an illness

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