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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mug — a cup
  4. cold — not warm
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bound — certain
  9. board — to get on
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. season — of the year
  12. mug — a face
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. season — in sport
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. mug — to rob
  21. board — a committee
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. court — of law

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