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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: staff · row · date · swing · perch · stock · stem · net

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stock — shares
  4. swing — to play on
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. row — a line
  7. staff — employees
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stock — goods
  10. net — for catching
  11. stem — to come from
  12. staff — a stick
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. date — the fruit
  16. swing — music
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. staff — employees
  19. row — to paddle
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. stem — a stem cell

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