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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. hand — help
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. last — to go on
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. cap — a hat
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cap — a lid
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bore — to drill
  15. last — finally
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. last — final
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bore — to tire
  23. stem — to come from
  24. hand — in cards

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