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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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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 · pit · tube · mine · cell · stock · sharp · kid

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. tube — a container
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stock — goods
  10. cell — in biology
  11. kid — child
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cell — a phone
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stock — shares
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. tube — the underground

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