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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: bore · lean · stem · row · temple · spring · race · stock

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. lean — to bend
  3. spring — a coil
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. spring — of water
  8. lean — thin
  9. race — humankind
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. stock — goods
  12. race — a contest
  13. spring — the season
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. row — a line
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stock — shares
  24. stem — of a plant

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