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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 116 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. stem — to come from
  7. fork — in a road
  8. capital — money
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. stock — goods
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. track — a song
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. capital — a city
  24. stock — shares

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