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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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468
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: mine · stock · root · bat · racket · stand · bulb · tear

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — from crying
  7. root — of a word
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. stand — to bear
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. stock — goods
  14. root — the cause
  15. tear — to rip
  16. stock — shares
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bulb — for light
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. racket — for tennis

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