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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. court — for sport
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rush — hurry
  5. season — of the year
  6. stock — shares
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. season — in sport
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. court — of a king
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. race — a contest
  22. court — of law
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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