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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 116 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: spring · rock · game · stock · cold · stick

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stock — goods
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rock — a stone
  8. spring — of water
  9. stock — shares
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. game — a match
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rock — music

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