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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. court — of a king
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. court — of law
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — a line
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stock — shares
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stock — goods
  17. pop — music
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. season — of the year
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. season — in sport

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