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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — for sport
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chest — a box
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — shares
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. track — a path
  18. stock — goods

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