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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 120 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stem — to come from
  3. capital — money
  4. rule — government
  5. stock — shares
  6. cue — a hint
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stock — goods
  9. branch — a division
  10. file — a line of people
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. file — a document
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. file — a tool
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. stock — a soup base

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