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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 120 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: spring · court · stock · tear · land · pit · tube · deal

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — ground
  4. court — of a king
  5. land — a country
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pit — in a race
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. tube — a container
  10. stock — goods
  11. tear — to rip
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. land — to come down
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stock — shares
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. court — of law
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. spring — of water
  23. pit — a hole
  24. court — for sport

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