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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. court — of a king
  3. stock — shares
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. shower — rain
  11. degree — an amount
  12. march — the month
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bank — for money
  16. degree — from a university
  17. shower — to wash
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bank — for money
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stock — goods
  24. chest — of your body

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