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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: row · court · bark · bowl · fan · hand · season · stock

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. row — a line
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. court — for sport
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. court — of a king
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. season — in sport
  19. court — of law
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. hand — help
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. season — of the year
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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