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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 116 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: wound · racket · wind · stick · stem · can · scale · drill

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. drill — the tool
  3. can — a tin
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. can — to be able to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. can — a tin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. scale — in music
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — army training
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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