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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. land — ground
  3. drill — a practice
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. drill — army training
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. land — to come down
  8. season — in sport
  9. court — for sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. land — a country
  12. stock — shares
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. court — of law
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. stock — goods
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. drill — the tool
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. court — of a king
  24. foot — a measure

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