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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: saw · stock · stem · pop · lie · field · spring · wake

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. stock — goods
  3. pop — music
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. field — farmland
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spring — the season
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. field — for sport
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. stock — shares
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pop — soda
  22. wake — a trail
  23. field — a subject
  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