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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 116 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: court · stock · pound · face · march · fan · stand · content

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. face — to confront
  3. march — music
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stand — to bear
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pound — a weight
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. content — the amount
  19. stock — goods
  20. march — the month
  21. content — happy
  22. stock — shares
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. march — the month

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