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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 124 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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stock — shares
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bass — the fish
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. stock — goods
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. court — for sport
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. ball — a great time
  21. pop — soda
  22. stem — to come from
  23. pop — music
  24. row — a line

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