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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: net · spring · last · stock · swing · tube · prune · pass

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. net — in sport
  5. last — final
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tube — a container
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. tube — the underground
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. net — for catching
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — to go on
  19. spring — of water
  20. last — finally
  21. stock — shares
  22. swing — music
  23. pass — a permit
  24. net — after costs

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