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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. stock — goods
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lean — to bend
  5. chest — a box
  6. stock — shares
  7. spell — letters
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lean — thin
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spring — of water
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spring — the season
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. spell — magic
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — a thrill

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