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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stock — goods
  3. cap — a lid
  4. staff — employees
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. clip — for paper
  10. staff — a stick
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. staff — employees
  15. date — the fruit
  16. stock — shares
  17. clip — a video
  18. field — a subject
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. stem — of a plant

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