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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. capital — money
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. staff — employees
  9. date — the fruit
  10. wound — an injury
  11. staff — a stick
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wound — an injury
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — hurry
  16. capital — a city
  17. stock — goods
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stock — shares
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stem — a stem cell

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