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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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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: tear · court · stock · club · snap · rule · bulb · ball

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. stock — goods
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. ball — a great time
  4. stock — shares
  5. rule — a law
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tear — from crying
  8. club — for dancing
  9. ball — a dance
  10. club — for golf
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — government
  13. club — a group
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. court — of law
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bulb — for light
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. snap — to click
  22. tear — to rip
  23. court — for sport
  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