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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: mine · bowl · stock · trunk · saw · date · stem · mate

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mate — a friend
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. date — the fruit
  12. stock — goods
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mine — for digging
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. saw — the tool
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stock — shares
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stem — to come from

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