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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 120 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: arm · sharp · stem · file · perch · spring · stock · fan

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. file — a tool
  6. stock — shares
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. file — a line of people
  9. sharp — clever
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spring — of water
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. spring — the season
  17. file — a document
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stock — goods
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. perch — for a bird

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