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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: deal · court · last · stem · stock · pit · band · season

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. stem — to come from
  3. band — a ring
  4. last — to go on
  5. court — for sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. last — finally
  8. season — of the year
  9. court — of a king
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stock — goods
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — in a race
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. stock — shares
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. band — a music group
  22. last — final
  23. season — in sport
  24. deal — to handle

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