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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 120 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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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: cell · stock · pit · file · band · mark · wave · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pit — a hole
  6. band — a music group
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. file — a tool
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. court — for sport
  16. stock — shares
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mark — a trace
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a ring
  24. court — of law

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