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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
468
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: ball · track · spell · land · patient · court · sharp · stock

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. court — for sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. sharp — clever
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. court — of law
  9. land — to come down
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spell — letters
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. land — a country
  19. track — a song
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. land — ground
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a path
  24. court — of a king

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