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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: cold · land · cell · stock · jam · bay · mine · stem

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. mine — for digging
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. land — ground
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stock — shares
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. land — to come down
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stock — goods
  23. land — a country
  24. stock — a soup base

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