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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · bowl · land · mouse · hand · face · net · wind

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — to come down
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — in cards
  7. net — after costs
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. face — part of the head
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. net — in sport
  16. hand — help
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. land — a country
  23. stem — to come from
  24. net — for catching

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