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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: bowl · stock · court · pitcher · spring · lash · perch · cold

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. spring — of water
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stock — goods
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. spring — the season
  19. stock — shares
  20. court — for sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. pitcher — a jug

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