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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: bay · stock · bulb · spring · prune · fall · hand · swing

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spring — of water
  4. fall — the season
  5. stock — goods
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. spring — the season
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. swing — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bulb — for light
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — part of the body
  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