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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's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. press — to push
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stock — shares
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — goods
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — a coil
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — the season
  13. press — a publisher
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — of water
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. bulb — for light

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