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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: land · stock · leaves · kick · arm · stem · sharp · spring

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. spring — a coil
  4. land — ground
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. kick — in football
  9. stock — shares
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. land — to come down
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. stem — to come from
  21. land — a country
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. leaves — of a tree

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