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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: bank · track · stock · face · stem · kid · bowl · row

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stock — goods
  4. row — a line
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. face — to confront
  8. track — a path
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. row — to paddle
  15. track — to keep track
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. track — a song
  24. stem — to come from

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