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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. stock — shares
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — for sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. court — of law
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. club — for golf
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wind — moving air
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. wake — a trail
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. club — a group
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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