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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 120 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: season · bowl · mouse · cold · stock · field · court · can

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. season — in sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. court — of law
  8. field — farmland
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. field — a subject
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. court — of a king
  13. season — of the year
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. field — for sport
  24. bowl — to roll

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