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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
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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: bulb · stock · mine · court · temple · trunk · cap · race

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. court — for sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. stock — goods
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cap — a lid
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. court — of a king
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. race — humankind
  16. bulb — for light
  17. mine — for digging
  18. race — a contest
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. court — of law
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stock — shares

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