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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · bulb · stock · swing · tear · bear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. 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. bear — to put up with
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bear — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — goods
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bear — the animal
  8. swing — to play on
  9. tear — to rip
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. stock — shares
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bulb — for light
  18. 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