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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: ground · content · stock · cue · stem · lean · field · wound

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — a position
  6. field — for sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. ground — crushed
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cue — a signal
  13. content — the amount
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cue — for pool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. field — a subject
  20. stem — to come from
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — shares

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