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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. date — the fruit
  6. game — wild animals
  7. scale — in music
  8. face — part of the head
  9. scale — size or range
  10. present — a gift
  11. stock — goods
  12. present — the time now
  13. face — to confront
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stem — to come from
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. present — there
  21. face — to point toward
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. game — a match
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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