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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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Word bank
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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: fall · leaves · present · court · stock · game · hand · craft

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. game — a match
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. stock — shares
  8. fall — the season
  9. hand — help
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. game — wild animals
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stock — goods
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. craft — boats
  19. court — of law
  20. hand — in cards
  21. craft — a skill
  22. court — for sport
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of a king

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