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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. roll — a list
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. swing — music
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. deal — to handle
  12. swing — to play on
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. swing — in golf
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pound — a weight
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. court — of a king
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. court — of law
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. roll — a cake

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