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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. object — a thing
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. court — of a king
  8. bass — the fish
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bass — low music
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stock — goods
  13. march — the month
  14. object — an aim
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. drill — the tool
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. drill — army training
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. object — to protest
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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