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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: ball · court · stock · race · pound · squash · fork · bass

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. court — for sport
  10. fork — in a road
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. ball — a dance
  15. court — of a king
  16. stock — shares
  17. bass — low music
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. race — humankind
  21. pound — a weight
  22. race — a contest
  23. squash — the sport
  24. race — the arms race

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