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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 120 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bank — of a river
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. bank — for money
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rush — hurry
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — a break
  18. wound — an injury
  19. net — for catching
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bank — for money
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rest — what's left

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