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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. stock — goods
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — in music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. saw — the tool
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. present — there
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. present — the time now
  17. spring — of water
  18. bear — the animal
  19. present — a gift
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stock — shares

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