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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. march — the month
  3. bass — the fish
  4. march — the month
  5. rush — hurry
  6. court — of law
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. stock — shares
  11. current — of water
  12. march — music
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — a subject
  17. court — for sport
  18. bass — low music
  19. field — farmland
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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