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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. club — a group
  4. stock — goods
  5. club — for dancing
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. chair — a leader
  12. court — of a king
  13. stem — to come from
  14. spring — the season
  15. club — for golf
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. stock — shares
  21. spring — of water
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. stem — of a plant

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