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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: stem · stock · board · clip · hand · present · kid · cabinet

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. hand — help
  6. stock — goods
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. present — a gift
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. present — there
  14. clip — a video
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — for paper
  17. board — a committee
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kid — child
  20. stock — shares
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. stem — a stem cell

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