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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: tear · deal · race · stem · stock · net · wound · mug

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. net — in sport
  3. mug — a cup
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. race — a contest
  6. tear — from crying
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. race — humankind
  11. stock — goods
  12. tear — to rip
  13. race — the arms race
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — to handle
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — to rob
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — of a plant
  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