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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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — rain
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. can — to be able to
  5. stock — goods
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. shower — to wash
  10. court — of a king
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chest — of your body
  13. court — of law
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cap — a lid
  20. can — a tin
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chest — a box
  23. can — a tin
  24. stock — shares

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