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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fork · temple · stem · file · net · stock · cold · ground

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. file — a tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. file — a document
  7. stock — goods
  8. stem — to come from
  9. ground — crushed
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. net — in sport
  14. ground — a position
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. file — a line of people
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. stock — shares
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fork — in a road
  24. net — after costs

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