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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. court — of law
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. ground — a position
  10. mark — a grade
  11. ground — the earth
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rash — hasty
  16. firm — a company
  17. squash — the sport
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — decided
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. stock — shares
  22. rash — a series
  23. stock — goods
  24. squash — to crush

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