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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. face — to confront
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a friend
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mate — a partner
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. shower — to wash
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pound — a weight
  14. capital — money
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. face — to point toward
  18. capital — a city
  19. shower — rain
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. rock — a stone
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rock — music

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