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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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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. squash — to crush
  3. branch — a division
  4. squash — the sport
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kid — to tease
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tube — the underground
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tube — a container
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. land — to come down
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. land — a country
  21. bulb — for light
  22. stock — shares
  23. land — ground
  24. branch — of a bank

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