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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: rock · race · stem · date · stock · wake · bulb · land

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. race — a contest
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wake — a trail
  7. land — a country
  8. rock — a stone
  9. race — the arms race
  10. date — the fruit
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. race — humankind
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. land — ground
  20. rock — music
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. land — to come down
  24. date — on the calendar

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