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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: clip · fan · rule · game · net · craft · stock · bulb

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. stock — goods
  5. craft — boats
  6. stock — shares
  7. net — for catching
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. clip — for paper
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. net — in sport
  13. rule — a law
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bulb — for light
  16. clip — a video
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. craft — a skill
  21. net — after costs
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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