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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: calf · kick · court · bowl · stock · pop · capital · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kick — in football
  4. pop — soda
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. court — of law
  7. stock — goods
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. court — for sport
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pop — to visit
  13. last — to go on
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. stock — shares
  16. capital — money
  17. pop — music
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. court — of a king
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. last — final

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