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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: firm · cap · stock · fan · spring · land · tube · prune

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. land — to come down
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stock — goods
  8. firm — decided
  9. cap — of ice
  10. prune — to trim
  11. firm — a company
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. land — ground
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. land — a country
  16. firm — steady
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — of water
  19. stock — shares
  20. cap — a hat
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. prune — to trim

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