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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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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: kick · stock · tear · face · stem · last

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. face — to point toward
  4. last — to go on
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kick — in football
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. last — final
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — goods
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. tear — from crying

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