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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — there
  4. game — a match
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. present — a gift
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — to wash
  12. court — for sport
  13. land — to come down
  14. shower — rain
  15. land — ground
  16. court — of law
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. land — a country
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. court — of a king
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. foot — a measure
  24. game — a kind of play

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