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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 · kid · season · stock · dip · wound · stem · bat

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. stock — goods
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. season — in sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kid — child
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stock — shares
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. season — of the year
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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