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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 116 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: stock · bowl · capital · row · deal · stem · mine · hand

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stock — goods
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. deal — to handle
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. capital — money
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stock — shares
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. hand — help
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stem — to come from
  22. capital — a city
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. deal — a big deal

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