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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. court — for sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bulb — for light
  10. stock — goods
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bound — obliged
  14. season — in sport
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. season — of the year
  19. court — of a king
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. court — of law
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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