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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mark — a trace
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. hand — in cards
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mate — a partner
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. foot — a measure
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a grade
  16. shower — to wash
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. shower — rain
  22. stock — goods
  23. stem — to come from
  24. foot — the bottom

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