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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: roll · ground · wave · stem · stock · race · bark · land

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — a list
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. ground — the earth
  5. race — humankind
  6. stem — to come from
  7. land — a country
  8. race — the arms race
  9. stock — goods
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. race — a contest
  12. ground — a position
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. ground — crushed
  17. land — ground
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stock — shares
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. land — to come down
  24. bark — to shout

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