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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: stem · rule · wind · stock · cabinet · pitcher · ball · hand

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. stock — goods
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. hand — help
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rule — government
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rule — a law
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. stock — shares
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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