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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: stock · court · net · shower · pit · march · suit · mug

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. mug — to rob
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — the month
  5. suit — in cards
  6. net — for catching
  7. mug — a face
  8. suit — clothes
  9. net — in sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. court — for sport
  14. mug — a cup
  15. stock — shares
  16. court — of law
  17. pit — in a race
  18. shower — rain
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. net — after costs
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. pit — a hole

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