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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: stock · field · cue · cabinet · cell · court · prune · wind

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of law
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cue — for pool
  6. stock — shares
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cell — in biology
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. field — farmland
  13. court — of a king
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — for sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. field — for sport
  20. cue — a hint
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — a subject
  24. cabinet — ministers

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