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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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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: file · tear · mark · stock · content · row · stem · cap

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. cap — a hat
  3. stem — to come from
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mark — a trace
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mark — a grade
  9. content — happy
  10. row — a line
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. stock — shares
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — of ice
  18. stock — goods
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cap — a lid
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — the amount
  24. mark — to pay attention

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