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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: spring · stock · wave · can · court · deal · pitch · date

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stock — goods
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. spring — a coil
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. spring — of water
  10. court — of law
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. court — of a king
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. deal — to handle
  17. can — a tin
  18. stock — shares
  19. date — the fruit
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. spring — the season

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