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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: ball · cold · stock · can · bowl · bore · saw · court

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stock — shares
  7. court — for sport
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. can — to be able to
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — an illness
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. stock — goods
  24. can — a tin

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