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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: wave · mine · saw · stock · charge · bulb · rest · kid

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. charge — a price
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rest — a break
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stock — goods
  7. mine — for digging
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stock — shares
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bulb — for light
  17. charge — electricity
  18. rest — what's left
  19. charge — in control
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. saw — the tool
  22. kid — child
  23. rest — what's left
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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