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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: court · wax · net · nail · roll · swing · chip · stock

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. court — of law
  3. chip — to eat
  4. swing — to play on
  5. stock — goods
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chip — for betting
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. net — for catching
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. swing — music
  13. court — for sport
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. net — after costs
  16. stock — shares
  17. wax — to grow
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — in sport
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. roll — a list
  24. chip — in a computer

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