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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stem — to come from
  3. track — to keep track
  4. can — to be able to
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stock — shares
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. ground — the earth
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wake — a trail
  13. ground — a position
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. can — a tin
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. can — a tin
  24. wind — moving air

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