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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. field — for sport
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. field — a subject
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. field — farmland
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bulb — for light
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. club — for golf
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. club — a group
  20. lean — thin
  21. mine — for digging
  22. lean — to bend
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. stem — to come from

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