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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: stock · suit · bat · net · kid · racket · land · cold

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cold — an illness
  3. land — to come down
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — in sport
  7. stock — shares
  8. kid — to tease
  9. suit — to fit
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. suit — in cards
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — for catching
  19. bat — the animal
  20. land — a country
  21. suit — clothes
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. net — after costs
  24. land — ground

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