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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: shower · court · mark · arm · key · content · wound · stock

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. key — for a lock
  3. court — of a king
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stock — shares
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mark — a grade
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — happy
  16. key — in music
  17. shower — rain
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. stock — goods
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. content — the amount

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