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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stock — shares
  4. roll — a cake
  5. stock — goods
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. chest — a box
  8. mark — a grade
  9. chest — of your body
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. stand — to bear
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. roll — a list
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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