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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 120 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: rash · stem · stock · tube · pitcher · court · wake · prune

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. court — for sport
  6. stock — shares
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of a king
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stock — goods
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tube — a container
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rash — a series
  24. court — of law

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