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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.

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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: kid · ground · drill · club · foot · wound · court · stem

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — a group
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. club — for golf
  5. court — of a king
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — child
  9. drill — the tool
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kid — to tease
  12. drill — army training
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. drill — a practice
  21. court — of law
  22. stem — to come from
  23. court — for sport
  24. foot — a measure

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