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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 on a ________________ here.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. ball — a great time
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. chair — a leader
  12. court — of a king
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ball — a dance
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. roll — a cake
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. band — a ring
  20. court — of law
  21. band — a music group
  22. pop — to visit
  23. roll — a list
  24. stock — a soup base

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