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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: kid · mine · stock · scale · craft · shower · stem · can

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. craft — a handicraft
  2. shower — rain
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. can — a tin
  5. kid — child
  6. stock — shares
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. can — a tin
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stock — goods
  12. stem — to come from
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kid — to tease
  15. can — to be able to
  16. shower — to wash
  17. craft — boats
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stem — of a plant
  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