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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: bulb · pitcher · stock · court · pound · season · fork · wave

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. court — for sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stock — goods
  9. court — of law
  10. stock — shares
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. court — of a king
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. season — in sport
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pound — for dogs

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