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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. court — of law
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cell — in biology
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. game — a match
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lean — thin
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chair — a leader
  23. game — wild animals
  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