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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: stock · bear · bass · racket · tear · kid · clip · suit

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bear — the animal
  5. suit — clothes
  6. stock — shares
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — goods
  11. suit — to fit
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. tear — to rip
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bass — the fish
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bass — low music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — a video
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. stock — a soup base

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