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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: temple · last · stem · bark · wind · toast · tube · stock

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. tube — a container
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bark — to shout
  6. last — to go on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — finally
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tube — the underground
  16. stock — shares
  17. last — final
  18. stock — goods
  19. stem — to come from
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. toast — bread
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. temple — side of the head

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