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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: ball · cell · fork · temple · stem · tear · stock · spell

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stock — shares
  4. fork — in a road
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. spell — magic
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a dance
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stock — goods
  17. stem — to come from
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spell — letters
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. spell — a short time

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