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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stock — shares
  3. can — a tin
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. field — farmland
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. chest — of your body
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. field — for sport
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. sharp — clever
  16. field — a subject
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lie — to recline
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. stock — goods
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. chest — a box
  24. stem — to come from

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