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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: ball · wound · spring · stem · net · trunk · hide · ground

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. net — after costs
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. spring — of water
  11. net — for catching
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ball — a dance
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. ball — a great time
  21. net — in sport
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. ground — a position

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