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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: wind · can · land · cue · bulb · tear · stock · field

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wind — moving air
  4. can — to be able to
  5. stock — shares
  6. bulb — for light
  7. land — ground
  8. field — a subject
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. land — a country
  16. field — for sport
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — for pool
  20. can — a tin
  21. land — to come down
  22. tear — from crying
  23. can — a tin
  24. field — farmland

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