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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: staff · pitch · fall · spring · tube · stock · mine · saw

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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. staff — employees
  4. tube — a container
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stock — shares
  10. staff — employees
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. spring — of water
  14. tube — the underground
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fall — the season
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. fall — to drop
  23. staff — a stick
  24. mine — belonging to me

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