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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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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: rest · stock · racket · cold · plane · cell

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stock — shares
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stock — goods
  15. rest — a break
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rest — what's left

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