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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. stock — goods
  3. bear — the animal
  4. roll — a list
  5. court — of law
  6. staff — a stick
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. court — for sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. roll — a cake
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bear — the animal
  16. sharp — clever
  17. saw — the tool
  18. staff — employees
  19. stock — shares
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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