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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · stock · mine · foot · fall · content · saw · pass

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mine — for digging
  3. court — of a king
  4. fall — the season
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. foot — a measure
  7. fall — to drop
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. court — for sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fall — to drop
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. content — the amount
  21. stock — shares
  22. content — happy
  23. court — of law
  24. content — videos and posts

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