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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. stock — goods
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. net — in sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. stock — shares
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. shower — rain
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. game — wild animals
  18. tear — to rip
  19. game — a match
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. shower — to wash
  24. leaves — of a tree

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