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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: bank · snap · mine · stem · row · stick · bowl · stock

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bank — for money
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bank — of a river
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bank — for money
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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