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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · stock · file · court · rule · wind

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. rule — government
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stock — goods
  11. file — a document
  12. rule — a law
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stock — shares
  17. file — a tool
  18. court — of a king

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