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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 120 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. perch — the fish
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stock — goods
  5. board — to get on
  6. swing — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. hand — in cards
  10. court — for sport
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — help
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. stock — shares
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. shower — rain
  19. court — of a king
  20. swing — in golf
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. court — of law

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