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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · chest · band · fine · pit · clip · leaves · stock

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stock — goods
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. clip — a video
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pit — in a race
  10. stock — shares
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. clip — for paper
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. pit — a hole
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fine — high quality
  23. chest — a box
  24. clip — to cut

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