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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stock — shares
  3. present — a gift
  4. bulb — for light
  5. field — a subject
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. present — there
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. land — to come down
  11. present — the time now
  12. stock — goods
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bulb — for light
  15. field — farmland
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. game — a match
  18. bear — the animal
  19. field — for sport
  20. bear — the animal
  21. land — ground
  22. branch — a division
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. land — a country

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