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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. land — a country
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. ground — crushed
  9. current — electric
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. current — of water
  14. lie — to recline
  15. ground — a position
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. land — ground
  20. stock — shares
  21. roll — a list
  22. stem — to come from
  23. roll — a cake
  24. current — happening now

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