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

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. clip — to cut
  3. swing — music
  4. clip — a video
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. root — of a word
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. cap — of ice
  12. chair — a leader
  13. swing — to play on
  14. court — for sport
  15. root — the cause
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — a lid
  19. court — of a king
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. swing — in golf
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. root — of a plant

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