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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. court — of a king
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stock — shares
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — of water
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mark — a trace
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spring — the season
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. stock — goods
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. nail — for a hammer

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