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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 · pit · ground · game · spell · dip · bulb · hand

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stock — goods
  3. ground — crushed
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stock — shares
  7. hand — help
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bulb — for light
  11. game — a match
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. ground — a position
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. game — wild animals
  20. spell — letters
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. ground — the earth
  24. game — a kind of play

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