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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: stem · land · clip · lean · rest · stock · deal · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stem — to come from
  3. land — to come down
  4. clip — a video
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. lean — to bend
  8. tube — a container
  9. land — a country
  10. lean — thin
  11. land — ground
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stock — goods
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. tube — the underground
  17. clip — to cut
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stock — shares
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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