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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mine — for digging
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — to trim
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stock — shares
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. stock — goods
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stem — to come from
  19. drill — army training
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. mark — a trace
  24. stem — of a plant

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