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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: wave · stock · calf · bat · net · stem · press · last

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. press — to push
  3. stock — shares
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. press — newspapers
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. net — for catching
  12. stock — goods
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bat — the animal
  15. net — in sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. last — final
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stem — to come from
  20. net — after costs
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. press — a publisher

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