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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: season · tube · suit · stock · chip · mine · court · net

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. tube — a container
  3. court — of law
  4. tube — the underground
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. suit — in cards
  7. season — in sport
  8. chip — to eat
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. season — of the year
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. suit — to fit
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. chip — for betting
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. net — after costs
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stock — goods
  20. suit — clothes
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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