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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. snap — to click
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. court — for sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. court — of law
  8. stock — goods
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. scale — in music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. stem — to come from
  14. scale — size or range
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. swing — in golf
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stock — shares
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. spell — magic
  23. swing — music
  24. spell — letters

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