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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: fan · staff · kick · stem · game · stock · racket · content

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. staff — employees
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. content — the amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stock — shares
  11. game — a match
  12. staff — a stick
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. staff — employees
  15. kick — in football
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. stem — to come from
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. racket — for tennis

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