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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. stock — goods
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. court — for sport
  6. kid — child
  7. net — in sport
  8. pass — a permit
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. suit — in cards
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — to fit
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. snap — to click
  19. stock — shares
  20. mine — for digging
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mine — an explosive

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