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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. stock — shares
  5. bulb — for light
  6. chip — for betting
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. tube — a container
  10. spring — of water
  11. firm — a company
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stock — goods
  15. chip — to eat
  16. net — in sport
  17. firm — decided
  18. date — the fruit
  19. firm — steady
  20. spring — the season
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. net — for catching
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. tube — the underground

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