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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: stock · rush · pop · saw · roll · plane · court · cap

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. court — of a king
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cap — of ice
  8. court — for sport
  9. plane — a tool
  10. rush — hurry
  11. stock — goods
  12. court — of law
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pop — music
  15. roll — a cake
  16. stock — shares
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pop — to visit
  19. roll — a list
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rush — a thrill

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