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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: land · ground · current · leaves · court · stock · chair · shower

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. shower — to wash
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. chair — a leader
  10. land — ground
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. current — happening now
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. current — electric
  17. shower — rain
  18. stock — goods
  19. land — to come down
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. current — of water
  22. ground — crushed
  23. court — for sport
  24. land — a country

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