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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: date · stem · chair · cell · game · stock · rash · fine

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chair — a leader
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fine — high quality
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. game — a match
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rash — a series
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. rash — hasty

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