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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: drill · court · stock · net · tear · club · last · rush

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. net — after costs
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. drill — the tool
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. last — final
  8. net — for catching
  9. drill — a practice
  10. club — for golf
  11. last — finally
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — for sport
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. drill — army training
  20. stock — shares
  21. net — in sport
  22. rush — hurry
  23. last — to go on
  24. tear — from crying

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