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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: straw · fine · stem · stock · squash · staff · wind · capital

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stock — shares
  13. squash — the sport
  14. staff — a stick
  15. capital — money
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. squash — to crush
  20. capital — a city
  21. stem — to come from
  22. fine — high quality
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stem — of a plant

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