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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: pound · cold · stock · bulb · current · season · bear · court

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stock — goods
  10. cold — an illness
  11. season — in sport
  12. court — of law
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. current — happening now
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — shares
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. bulb — for light
  22. season — of the year
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — not warm

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