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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: date · land · shower · mouse · pass · stock · sharp · court

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. shower — rain
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. court — for sport
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. land — a country
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. sharp — clever
  21. date — the fruit
  22. land — ground
  23. pass — a permit
  24. stock — shares

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