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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. court — of a king
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. season — in sport
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. board — to get on
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. court — for sport
  16. ground — crushed
  17. court — of law
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. fine — high quality
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — a penalty

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