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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: rush · wake · stock · season · court · rock · last · bore

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. court — of law
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bore — to tire
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. last — final
  12. court — of a king
  13. bore — to drill
  14. rock — music
  15. last — finally
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. stock — goods
  21. season — of the year
  22. last — to go on
  23. court — for sport
  24. season — in sport

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