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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. ball — a great time
  6. land — a country
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stock — goods
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. stock — shares
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stem — to come from
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. ball — a dance
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. shower — rain
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. trunk — of a car

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