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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. court — for sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chip — for betting
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. chip — to eat
  8. plane — a tool
  9. stock — shares
  10. season — of the year
  11. wind — moving air
  12. court — of a king
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. court — of law
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. swing — to play on
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — in geometry

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