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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: ground · bark · race · bore · stem · spring · mine · fine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. ground — crushed
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bore — to drill
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spring — of water
  9. mine — for digging
  10. ground — a position
  11. bore — to tire
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. spring — the season
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. stem — a stem cell

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