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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. court — of a king
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — of law
  5. track — a song
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stock — goods
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. key — for a lock
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. track — a path
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bowl — to roll

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