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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. deal — to handle
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. land — ground
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. land — a country
  18. scale — size or range
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. degree — temperature
  22. scale — in music
  23. land — to come down
  24. fan — a supporter

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