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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ball — a great time
  3. court — of law
  4. tube — the underground
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cold — an illness
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. ball — a dance
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. fork — in a road
  19. court — of a king
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. tube — a container
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. calf — a young animal

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