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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: net · march · pound · mine · ground · stem · wind · tube

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. march — the month
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. net — after costs
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — a container
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. net — in sport
  21. ground — crushed
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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