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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.

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: march · season · cold · face · lash · bay · court · stock

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. face — part of the head
  3. season — of the year
  4. court — for sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — to point toward
  7. march — music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. court — of a king
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — in sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stock — goods
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. face — to confront
  16. march — the month
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. march — the month
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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