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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: bark · ball · land · bat · spring · racket · stock · tube

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spring — of water
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. ball — a dance
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bark — to shout
  16. stock — shares
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. spring — the season
  23. land — to come down
  24. stock — a soup base

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