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

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. present — a gift
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. present — there
  7. stock — goods
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. scale — in music
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. present — the time now
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — shares
  17. stem — to come from
  18. scale — size or range

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