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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fall — the season
  10. stock — goods
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bear — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fall — to drop
  18. march — the month
  19. tube — a container
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — music
  22. squash — the sport
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bear — to put up with

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