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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. game — a match
  4. stock — goods
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. kick — in football
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. content — happy
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bass — low music
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — wild animals
  18. content — the amount
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stand — to bear
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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