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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 120 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 · rash · race · rush · hide · march · wound

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stock — goods
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rush — hurry
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. stock — shares
  10. march — music
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. rash — a series
  16. race — a contest
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. race — humankind
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wound — an injury
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. stem — of a plant

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