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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: land · toast · net · prune · rush · game · stock · court

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. net — in sport
  3. rush — hurry
  4. court — of a king
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. court — for sport
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. land — to come down
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — a match
  15. net — for catching
  16. stock — goods
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. court — of law
  19. net — after costs
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. stock — shares
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. toast — bread
  24. prune — to trim

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