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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. file — a tool
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chip — for betting
  6. stock — shares
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. present — a gift
  9. spell — letters
  10. shower — to wash
  11. spell — magic
  12. present — the time now
  13. stock — goods
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. spell — a short time
  18. present — there
  19. shower — rain
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chip — to eat
  22. file — a document
  23. dip — to dunk
  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