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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: racket · craft · field · stock · stand · bat · chest · branch

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. craft — a skill
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. chest — a box
  7. stock — shares
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. field — a subject
  15. branch — a division
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — goods
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. craft — boats
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. craft — a handicraft
  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