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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. court — for sport
  5. hand — help
  6. stock — shares
  7. season — in sport
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. board — a committee
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. court — of law
  17. bulb — for light
  18. stock — goods
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. field — a subject
  21. court — of a king
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. board — to get on

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