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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 116 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: wake · root · sharp · racket · stock · cold · can · stem

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cold — an illness
  3. root — the cause
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stock — shares
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. can — to be able to
  10. stem — to come from
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. root — of a plant
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stock — goods
  20. can — a tin
  21. root — of a word
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. sharp — clever

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