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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: stock · chip · tear · wake · stem · band · kid · nail

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — for betting
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. stock — goods
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. tear — from crying
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. kid — child
  14. tear — to rip
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wake — a trail
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stock — shares
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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