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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: pound · mine · cell · net · bound · stem · craft · hand

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pound — a weight
  7. craft — boats
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. net — for catching
  11. bound — tied together
  12. net — after costs
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bound — certain
  22. net — in sport
  23. hand — help
  24. mine — for digging

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