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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. court — for sport
  5. swing — to play on
  6. game — a match
  7. deal — to handle
  8. court — of law
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. firm — decided
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. swing — in golf
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. firm — steady
  16. court — of a king
  17. stock — shares
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stem — to come from
  21. swing — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. stock — goods

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