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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: chest · root · stem · stock · mouse · tear · nail · wound

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stem — to come from
  6. root — the cause
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — shares
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chest — a box
  20. root — of a word
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. root — of a plant
  24. stem — of a plant

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