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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: stem · stock · file · court · rule · wind · scale · sharp

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a line of people
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. stock — shares
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wind — moving air
  11. court — for sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. scale — in music
  14. stock — goods
  15. rule — a law
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. court — of a king
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. file — a document
  24. rule — government

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