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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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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. shower — rain
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. stock — goods
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rule — a law
  8. court — of a king
  9. hand — help
  10. shower — to wash
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stock — shares
  16. rule — government
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. court — of law

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