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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: date · rule · court · sharp · ground · mine · stem · stock

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. court — of law
  5. rule — government
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stock — shares
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. stock — goods
  13. court — of a king
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rule — a law
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stem — to come from
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. sharp — clever
  24. rule — to rule out

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