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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.

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: stock · field · chest · wave · stem · craft · face · shower

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. field — farmland
  6. face — part of the head
  7. field — a subject
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. craft — boats
  10. stock — shares
  11. face — to confront
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. chest — of your body
  15. field — for sport
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. shower — rain
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. chest — a box
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stock — goods
  23. craft — a skill
  24. stem — to come from

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