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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: cell · bat · march · stock · stick · court · track · bulb

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. track — a song
  4. bat — the animal
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stock — goods
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. march — music
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. court — for sport
  22. track — a path
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bulb — for light

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