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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: hand · prune · staff · game · stem · stock · chip · mouse

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stock — shares
  13. staff — a stick
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. staff — employees
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. staff — employees
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. stock — goods

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