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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · shower · season · deal · stock · land · race · vault

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. race — a contest
  4. shower — rain
  5. court — for sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. land — a country
  9. season — in sport
  10. land — to come down
  11. stock — goods
  12. deal — to handle
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. court — of a king
  15. land — ground
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. stock — shares
  18. vault — a safe
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. court — of law

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