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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: land · bulb · row · stock · cold · capital · stand · leaves

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. stand — on your feet
  3. land — ground
  4. capital — a city
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. row — a line
  8. stand — to bear
  9. capital — money
  10. land — a country
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. land — to come down
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cold — not warm
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. stock — goods
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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