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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. roll — a list
  4. fine — all right
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pop — music
  7. court — of a king
  8. fine — high quality
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. court — for sport
  12. pop — to visit
  13. court — of law
  14. roll — a cake
  15. game — a match
  16. stock — goods
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. branch — a division
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pop — soda
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. fine — a penalty

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