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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rock — music
  4. stock — shares
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. hand — help
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. kid — child
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. court — of a king
  13. stock — goods
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. court — for sport
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. branch — a division
  23. court — of law
  24. rock — a stone

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