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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stock — shares
  3. land — a country
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — high quality
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stock — goods
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. land — ground
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. land — to come down
  18. stock — a soup base

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