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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 120 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 · bat · fork · mine · stock · squash · bore · deal

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stock — shares
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. court — for sport
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bore — to tire
  13. squash — to crush
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. mine — for digging
  22. court — of a king
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — a big deal

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