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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: rash · bulb · press · trunk · cell · wind · stock · fall

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wind — moving air
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rash — a series
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rash — hasty
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stock — shares
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fall — the season
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stock — goods
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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