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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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. present — the time now
  3. stock — shares
  4. saw — the tool
  5. tube — a container
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — a position
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wind — moving air
  18. present — there
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. present — a gift
  21. ground — crushed
  22. tear — from crying
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bulb — of a plant

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