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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 116 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: rest · spring · bulb · stock · clip · pop · bark · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — the season
  6. stock — shares
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pop — music
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rest — a break
  12. pop — soda
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. spring — of water
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. clip — a video
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. stock — goods
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — a coil
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rest — what's left
  24. clip — to cut

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