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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: bowl · ground · press · saw · fan · spring · stock · trunk

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. spring — a coil
  6. saw — the tool
  7. press — a publisher
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. ground — a position
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. ground — the earth
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. press — newspapers
  19. ground — crushed
  20. spring — the season
  21. press — to push
  22. spring — of water
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. saw — the tool

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