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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 120 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: ground · wind · rush · leaves · scale · stem · stock · land

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. scale — in music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stock — goods
  14. land — ground
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wind — moving air
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. land — a country
  19. stock — shares
  20. ground — a position
  21. rush — hurry
  22. land — to come down
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. stem — a stem cell

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