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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spell — a short time
  4. kid — child
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. court — of law
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mate — a friend
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spell — letters
  12. mate — a partner
  13. branch — a division
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. mate — to breed
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stock — shares
  18. court — of a king
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. spell — magic
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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