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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 120 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: rock · stock · pitcher · net · ball · court · last · row

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. court — of law
  3. stock — shares
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. ball — a great time
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. court — for sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. last — finally
  16. net — for catching
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. net — in sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. stock — goods
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. row — to paddle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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