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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: stock · stem · track · capital · race · prune · dip · hand

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stock — shares
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. track — a path
  7. race — humankind
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. race — a contest
  13. capital — a city
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — money
  18. hand — help
  19. dip — to sink
  20. stock — goods
  21. hand — in cards
  22. track — to keep track
  23. race — the arms race
  24. track — a song

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