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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. chip — to eat
  5. capital — a city
  6. stock — goods
  7. capital — money
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. stock — shares
  10. hand — help
  11. court — for sport
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chip — for betting
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. hand — in cards
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. shower — rain
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. perch — the fish
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. shower — to wash

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