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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: file · game · stock · toast · can · bulb · tube · cold

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. can — a tin
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. can — to be able to
  6. tube — the underground
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a match
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tube — a container
  12. stock — shares
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. game — wild animals
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. cold — the Cold War

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