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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. swing — music
  7. suit — in cards
  8. mark — a grade
  9. suit — to fit
  10. land — to come down
  11. stock — goods
  12. mark — a trace
  13. suit — clothes
  14. swing — to play on
  15. court — of law
  16. land — a country
  17. swing — in golf
  18. land — ground
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. net — in sport
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. court — of a king

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