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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. bound — certain
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cold — an illness
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bound — obliged
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cold — not warm
  22. game — a match
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. land — to come down

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