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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 · court · field · pound · swing · branch · object · fan

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. swing — music
  3. court — for sport
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. object — to protest
  8. court — of law
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. field — a subject
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. object — an aim
  14. pound — a weight
  15. stock — goods
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. swing — in golf
  21. court — of a king
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. stock — shares

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