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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: scale · race · suit · present · ball · stock · wind · court

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. race — humankind
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. ball — a dance
  7. suit — to fit
  8. suit — clothes
  9. court — of a king
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. present — there
  12. stock — shares
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. suit — in cards
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. scale — in music
  20. present — the time now
  21. race — a contest
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — the arms race
  24. present — a gift

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