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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: mine · foot · tear · squash · pit · stock · stem · lean

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mine — for digging
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stock — goods
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stock — shares
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. pit — in a race
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pit — a hole
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tear — to rip
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. tear — from crying
  24. foot — part of the body

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