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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stock — goods
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pound — a weight
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — to come from
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stock — shares
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rule — a law
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. scale — in music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rule — government

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