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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: stem · march · deal · ground · kid · clip · cabinet · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. ground — a position
  4. deal — to handle
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — to come from
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. march — music
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. ground — crushed
  15. clip — a video
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. kid — to tease
  19. clip — to cut
  20. march — the month
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. clip — for paper
  24. kid — child

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