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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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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 · court · season · pop · spring · fan · bowl · wax

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. spring — of water
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. pop — to visit
  7. stock — shares
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. season — of the year
  10. court — for sport
  11. pop — soda
  12. spring — the season
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. court — of a king
  16. pop — music
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. court — of law
  24. bowl — to roll

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