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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 116 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: row · kick · rash · stock · sharp · stem · content · pass

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. content — happy
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. stock — goods
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. row — a line
  11. stock — shares
  12. stem — to come from
  13. row — to paddle
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rash — a series
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pass — a permit
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. content — the amount
  24. sharp — clever

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