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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · toast · season · kid · court · prune · bowl · stock

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. court — for sport
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. toast — bread
  6. rule — a law
  7. kid — child
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. court — of a king
  10. season — in sport
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. prune — to trim
  17. season — of the year
  18. stock — shares
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. stock — goods
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. kid — to tease

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