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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: court · fall · sharp · wax · chair · stock · bat · tube

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. court — of law
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. tube — the underground
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. stock — shares
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chair — a leader
  13. sharp — clever
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. tube — a container
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. court — of a king
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bat — the animal
  24. court — for sport

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