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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: wave · cell · stem · ground · straw · face · drill · pitcher

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. drill — the tool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. face — to confront
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. face — part of the head
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. drill — a practice
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cell — in biology

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