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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: last · ball · stock · bowl · nail · season · bank · content

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ball — a great time
  3. content — the amount
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. season — of the year
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. last — final
  10. content — happy
  11. bank — of a river
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bank — for money
  14. season — in sport
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. bank — for money
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. last — to go on
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stock — shares

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