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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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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: shower · foot · stock · trunk · fine · game · court · bank

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fine — high quality
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. bank — for money
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. court — for sport
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. court — of law
  15. fine — all right
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. shower — to wash
  21. foot — a measure
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. shower — rain
  24. game — a match

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