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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.

Words on the sheet
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: racket · stem · stock · net · tear · fine · spring · perch

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. tear — from crying
  6. net — in sport
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — the season
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spring — of water
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fine — all right
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stock — goods
  19. perch — the fish
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fine — high quality
  22. net — for catching
  23. stem — to come from
  24. racket — a loud noise

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