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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. row — a line
  4. court — for sport
  5. object — a thing
  6. bear — the animal
  7. court — of law
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. object — an aim
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tube — a container
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bear — the animal
  18. dip — to sink
  19. court — of a king
  20. spring — a coil
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. object — to protest
  24. stock — goods

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