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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · spring · jam · stock · court · rest · fork · cap

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. ball — a dance
  3. stock — shares
  4. court — of law
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. court — for sport
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cap — of ice
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. rest — a break
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spring — the season
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. court — of a king
  23. stock — goods
  24. spring — of water

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