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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: firm · march · stem · land · row · stock · kid · season

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. row — a line
  3. firm — decided
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. firm — steady
  8. season — of the year
  9. stock — shares
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. land — ground
  13. march — the month
  14. stem — to come from
  15. kid — child
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. march — the month
  18. land — a country
  19. season — in sport
  20. firm — a company
  21. march — music
  22. stock — goods
  23. row — to paddle
  24. land — to come down

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