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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: cell · tube · stand · stem · cold · mine · file · stock

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a document
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. stock — goods
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stock — shares
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. tube — the underground
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. mine — belonging to me

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