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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.

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 · stock · date · pound · face · swing · fan · cold

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. court — for sport
  5. swing — to play on
  6. face — to confront
  7. swing — music
  8. face — to point toward
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pound — a weight
  12. stock — shares
  13. court — of a king
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. face — part of the head
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. court — of law
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. date — on the calendar

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