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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 · season · stem · tear · rash · wave · stock · pit

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. season — of the year
  9. stock — goods
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. chest — a box
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. pit — in a race
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rash — a series
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. season — in sport
  23. stem — to come from
  24. pit — a hole

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