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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: court · deal · board · pop · straw · chair · stock · rock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pop — to visit
  3. court — for sport
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. board — a committee
  6. court — of law
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stock — goods
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. court — of a king
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. stock — shares
  15. rock — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. board — to get on
  19. rock — a stone
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. deal — to handle
  22. pop — music
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. chair — a professorship

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