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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: land · bulb · temple · season · chair · stock · spell · press

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. land — a country
  3. season — of the year
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. stock — shares
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — to push
  10. chair — a leader
  11. season — in sport
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. land — to come down
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bulb — for light
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. land — ground

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