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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. bat — the animal
  3. court — of law
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. scale — in music
  11. stock — goods
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stock — shares
  14. court — for sport
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. court — of a king
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cell — in a prison

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