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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. court — of a king
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. branch — a division
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. cue — a signal
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. court — of law
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cue — for pool
  24. court — for sport

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