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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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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 · stem · stock · pitch · mine · chest · temple · chip

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chest — a box
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. chip — for betting
  11. stock — goods
  12. chest — of your body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pitch — completely
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stock — shares
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stem — to come from

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