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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: wind · stock · coach · bulb · pop · tear · saw · bear

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. pop — soda
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bear — the animal
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bear — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. tear — to rip
  24. coach — a trainer

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