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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: stock · cue · ground · stem · face · straw · march · band

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. march — the month
  4. face — part of the head
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ground — crushed
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cue — a signal
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. band — a music group
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. band — a ring
  15. stock — shares
  16. cue — for pool
  17. march — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cue — a hint
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. band — a rubber band

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