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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. season — in sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rock — music
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. stock — goods
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. shower — to wash
  22. court — of law
  23. stock — shares
  24. shower — rain

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