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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: chest · rash · spring · bat · stock · key · cue · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cue — a hint
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. spring — the season
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — a box
  10. cue — a signal
  11. key — in music
  12. spring — of water
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. key — for a lock
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. bulb — for light
  20. key — the most important part
  21. rash — a series
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cue — for pool
  24. bulb — for light

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