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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fine — high quality
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. band — a ring
  5. wind — moving air
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stock — shares
  8. staff — employees
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. file — a document
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. band — a music group
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stock — goods
  22. staff — employees
  23. file — a tool
  24. fine — all right

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