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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. stock — shares
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. court — of law
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. last — final
  10. court — for sport
  11. staff — a stick
  12. last — finally
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. can — to be able to
  16. last — to go on
  17. ground — the earth
  18. court — of a king
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. stock — goods

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