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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: cell · foot · ground · rest · stem · branch · pass · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. ground — a position
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stock — goods
  17. rest — a break
  18. branch — a division
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pass — a permit
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. branch — of a bank

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