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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 116 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: deal · club · court · bore · mark · stock · squash · field

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. field — for sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. court — of law
  7. deal — to handle
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — farmland
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. court — of a king
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. field — a subject
  15. court — for sport
  16. bore — to tire
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. club — for golf
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. stock — goods
  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