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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 116 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. staff — a stick
  8. field — for sport
  9. staff — employees
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stock — shares
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. staff — employees
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stem — a stem cell

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