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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. capital — money
  7. fine — high quality
  8. present — there
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. present — the time now
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. capital — a city
  14. stock — goods
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — all right
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wound — an injury
  21. present — a gift
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — for sport

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