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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 · staff · cold · nail · prune · temple · hand · stock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stem — to come from
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stock — goods
  7. prune — to trim
  8. staff — employees
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. hand — in cards
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. hand — help
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. stock — shares
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. prune — to trim

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