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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: fan · mine · court · stock · mark · saw · object · ground

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stock — goods
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. saw — the tool
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mark — a trace
  8. court — for sport
  9. stock — shares
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mark — a grade
  18. court — of a king
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. saw — the tool
  21. object — an aim
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. court — of law

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