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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 116 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: bay · court · season · stock · stem · field · can · pop

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stock — shares
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. can — a tin
  5. pop — music
  6. court — of a king
  7. pop — soda
  8. stem — to come from
  9. season — of the year
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stock — goods
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. season — in sport
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. court — of law
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. field — for sport

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