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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: tube · field · stock · pop · toast · mouse · stem · cold

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. tube — a container
  3. toast — bread
  4. pop — soda
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. field — a subject
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. field — for sport
  16. tube — the underground
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stock — goods
  21. pop — music
  22. field — farmland
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pop — to visit

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