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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: kid · mate · field · leaves · net · court · stock · shower

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mate — a friend
  6. kid — to tease
  7. net — in sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stock — goods
  10. field — for sport
  11. kid — child
  12. court — for sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. mate — to breed
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. field — a subject
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mate — a partner
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. net — after costs
  21. stock — shares
  22. field — farmland
  23. shower — rain
  24. stock — a soup base

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