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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. object — an aim
  7. court — of law
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stock — shares
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wind — moving air
  12. object — to protest
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ball — a dance
  16. object — a thing
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wind — moving air

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