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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: race · season · stock · court · ground · bowl · saw · root

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. saw — the tool
  3. race — a contest
  4. court — of a king
  5. ground — a position
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. race — humankind
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. court — for sport
  10. root — the cause
  11. stock — shares
  12. season — of the year
  13. ground — the earth
  14. season — in sport
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. stock — goods
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. ground — crushed
  19. root — of a word
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. root — of a plant
  23. court — of law
  24. race — the arms race

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