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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: sharp · mug · stem · cold · bat · track · stock · bore

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mug — a face
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bore — to drill
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stock — shares
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mug — to rob
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stock — goods
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. mug — a cup

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