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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: straw · stem · cabinet · tube · net · pitcher · clip · stock

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stock — goods
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. net — in sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. clip — to cut
  14. net — for catching
  15. clip — a video
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stem — to come from
  18. tube — a container
  19. stock — shares
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. net — after costs
  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