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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stock — goods
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. stock — shares
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wake — a trail
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rule — a law
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. rule — government
  20. ball — a great time
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. court — of law
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. ball — a dance

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