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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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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 · bat · perch · court · wave · cell · pitch · firm

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. firm — steady
  4. court — of a king
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bat — the animal
  7. court — for sport
  8. pitch — completely
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. stock — goods
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. firm — decided
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. firm — a company
  23. cell — in a prison
  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