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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. spring — the season
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spring — of water
  10. current — of water
  11. season — of the year
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. current — electric
  16. stock — goods
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. spring — a coil
  22. current — happening now
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ground — a position

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