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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. stock — shares
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. tear — from crying
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. field — farmland
  13. ground — the earth
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. field — for sport
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — a subject
  21. lean — thin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stock — goods

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