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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: wake · cap · pit · spring · stock · bulb · chair · ground

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stock — goods
  3. bulb — for light
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pit — in a race
  6. wake — a trail
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pit — a hole
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — of water
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. stock — shares
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. ground — a position
  22. spring — the season
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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