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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: stock · prune · club · march · cold · stem · bear · row

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stock — goods
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. march — music
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. club — a group
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. row — a line
  24. stock — shares

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