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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stock — goods
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rock — music
  5. cue — for pool
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. court — of a king
  8. march — music
  9. hand — help
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rock — a stone
  14. court — of law
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — for sport
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cold — an illness
  23. march — the month
  24. stock — shares

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