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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spell — letters
  4. stock — goods
  5. spell — magic
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. tube — the underground
  8. land — a country
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. stock — shares
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tube — a container
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. branch — a division
  20. swing — music
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. land — to come down

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