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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. ground — the earth
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stock — goods
  11. row — a line
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stem — to come from
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. row — to paddle
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. shower — rain

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