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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: stock · track · bark · wax · mug · ground · field · stem

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. ground — a position
  3. stock — shares
  4. track — a song
  5. stock — goods
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. field — a subject
  11. mug — a face
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wax — to grow
  17. field — for sport
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. field — farmland
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bark — to shout
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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