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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: stock · cue · field · shower · straw · bore · rash · court

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — to wash
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cue — for pool
  5. shower — rain
  6. field — farmland
  7. cue — a hint
  8. stock — goods
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. court — of a king
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cue — a signal
  15. court — for sport
  16. rash — hasty
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. court — of law
  19. bore — to drill
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rash — a series
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. field — 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