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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: field · hide · chest · lie · stock · bound · stem · lean

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. chest — a box
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. field — a subject
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stem — to come from
  13. lean — thin
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bound — tied together
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stock — goods
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. lean — to bend

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