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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — the time now
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. net — after costs
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. present — there
  7. stock — shares
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. band — a ring
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. stock — goods
  13. net — in sport
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. net — for catching
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bat — the animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stem — to come from
  23. band — a music group
  24. squash — to crush

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