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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: stock · spring · clip · fork · bear · spell · bass · bat

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spell — letters
  6. stock — goods
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spring — the season
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. stock — shares
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. spring — of water
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spell — a short time

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