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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rule — a law
  3. land — ground
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stock — shares
  6. court — for sport
  7. season — in sport
  8. rule — government
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. court — of law
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. season — of the year
  14. cell — a phone
  15. key — in music
  16. stock — goods
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cell — in biology
  19. land — a country
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. land — to come down
  22. court — of a king
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rule — to rule out

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