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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: charge · spring · bay · chest · deal · stem · hand · stock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. deal — to handle
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. chest — a box
  8. spring — a coil
  9. chest — of your body
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — a price
  12. spring — of water
  13. chest — of your body
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stock — shares
  24. spring — the season

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