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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. hand — help
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. squash — the sport
  7. court — for sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — in cards
  12. court — of a king
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. court — of law
  17. squash — the vegetable
  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