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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · row · stock · stem · wind · nail · leaves · mine

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — to paddle
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. perch — the fish
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. row — a line
  21. stock — shares
  22. mine — for digging
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. mine — an explosive

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