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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: spell · wake · bowl · saw · stock · pound · capital · stem

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. capital — money
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spell — magic
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. spell — letters
  23. stock — goods
  24. stem — to come from

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