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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: pit · spring · rock · deal · stock · bat · can · court

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. stock — shares
  5. spring — a coil
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pit — a hole
  9. court — of law
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. court — for sport
  13. stock — goods
  14. court — of a king
  15. rock — a stone
  16. pit — in a race
  17. rock — music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. can — a tin
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. spring — of water
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spring — the season

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