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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. roll — a cake
  4. staff — a stick
  5. rock — a stone
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rock — music
  9. shower — to wash
  10. staff — employees
  11. roll — a list
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. staff — employees
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. tear — from crying
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stem — to come from
  21. shower — rain
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. branch — a division

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