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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 120 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: wake · stock · net · kick · rush · perch · wound · bat

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. net — in sport
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. net — for catching
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rush — hurry
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stock — goods
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stock — shares
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. net — after costs
  24. wound — an injury

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