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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: racket · staff · stem · race · toast · clip · stock · hand

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. toast — bread
  3. hand — in cards
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. clip — a video
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. stem — to come from
  8. clip — for paper
  9. race — humankind
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — to cut
  17. race — a contest
  18. stock — shares
  19. hand — help
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. race — the arms race
  23. stock — goods
  24. stem — a stem cell

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