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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 112 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: sharp · stock · fork · tear · pop · land · rest · spring

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. stock — goods
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. land — ground
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pop — to visit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pop — soda
  19. spring — the season
  20. stock — shares
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — of water
  24. rest — what's left

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